HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-03-30, Page 22 News Record • Wednesday, March 30, 2016
The racers at the REACH centre in Clinton on March 11-12 ranged from beginners to
the professionals. A general rule is, those who are wearing the shirts with the big D
are the pros. The D designates memers of Detroit Multirotor (DMR) team, also known
as the Detroit Drones. Front from left: Ricky "Ricky", Keegan "Vaggy", Aeryck "Sketch".
Back from left: Trevor "Viking", Wayne "Crash", Paul "Skinlab FPV", Luke "Baja Dundee",
Terry "Beastmode", Brian "Buffy the Saint", Ryan "Helino", Joe Scully race announcer, Joe
Engalan owner of DMR.
FPV are the organizers of the races and have set the standards for drone racing in North
America. Much of the race technology and rules were created by the founding brothers.
Team FPV includes: Jay Cristiano, Joe Scully, Luke Rylprik, Wayne LeDrew, David French,
Trevor Chirstensen.
Bluewater
Ihrrtarla Chum Vibrator Agency
w {- Ada!RL"L.. Ont.If[I nne DEIN Cuu.•.
Notice to residents in the Municipality of Bluewater
The Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) will commence the 2016 Spring flushing of
watermains for the Municipality of Bluewater on the following dates Monday thru Friday:
Hensall Distribution System — April 4th to April 8th
Bluewater Distribution System (Lakefront Hwy 21) - April 4th to April 8th
Bluewater Distribution System (Lakefront Hwy 21) — April 11th to April 15th
Bluewater Distribution System (Bayfield) — April 18th to April 22nd
Zurich Distribution System —April 25th to April 29th
You may experience discoloured water coming from your tap. If this happens, we
suggest you try the following:
- remove the tap aerators off your taps and flush the cold water house lines until it runs
clear.
- flush out your hot water tanks. This is to remove the accumulated iron that precipitates
out in the tank; this iron may also decrease the efficiency of your water tank.
You may experience lower than normal pressure as a result of the flushing activities.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
OCWA will continue to work on the flushing programs to ensure consumer satisfaction.
Jennette Walker
Manager of Public Works
Municipality of Bluewater
519-236-4351
Ontario Clean Water Agency
519-441-0441 or
519-274-9242
Drone Races flourish at REACH centre
Valerie Gillies
Clinton News Record
FPV Racing Events held an
open competition for drone rac-
ing at the REACH centre in Clin-
ton March 11-12.
David French of the FPV Rac-
ing Events team explains that
these recreational FPV (first per-
son vision) quads are not actu-
ally drones, as they are usually
called. True drones fly autono-
mously via computers whereas
the quads are controlled
remotely by their pilots. The
quads send signals from a trans-
mitter to a computer much like
capturing a television broadcast
through antennae. French
exclaims, "This is exciting. The
technology we are using is the
highest on the planet right now!"
David's brother, Greg French,
lives in China. He has been rac-
ing drones since they became
popular two summers ago.
However when he came back to
visit his family in Collingwood, it
took a lot of time to travel to
drone events, which were more
just meet -ups at that time, as the
closest was in Quebec. The
brothers decided that there
needed to be events closer to
home to allow Greg to spend
more time with family during
his Canada visits. They took it
upon themselves to organize
them. This was the beginning of
FPV Racing Events which began
with a very grass roots race at a
meetup.
David remarked that most of
the drone owners at these early
events were very computer and
technology oriented and really
knew nothing about racing. To
bring a true racing element to
the events the brothers decided
that they needed race rules,
commentary and timing sys-
tems to formalize the races.
Greg is the technology wizard of
the family and invented the gog-
gles through his company Fat
Shark that made the drones
Valerie Gillies Photos Clinton News Record
Joe Engalan is owner of Detroit Multirotor Company, a supplier of the racing
quads, parts and accessories. He is also a member of the professional
racing team that competes internationally under his company name.
"plug and play': This simplified
the technology of controlling the
drones, making flying them
more accessible for recreational
users. Fat Shark also created the
transponders used to record
laps at the starting gate.
To address the race commen-
tary, David approached Joe
Scully who was an announcer at
a radio station in Conllingwood,
as well as being involved in
rodeos and Remote Control
(RC) car racing. Adding Scully to
the FPV team brought racing
skill and experience to the team
while having an announcer
voice to give the race commen-
taries needed to keep partici-
pants and the audience
informed. Scully's ties to the
rodeos provided him with con-
tacts to the equine circles, which
resulted in contacting the
REACH centre as a venue to
hold events.
Another extension of the
racing culture is the naming of
some parts of the track. The
obstacles the quads maneuver
through are mainly gates that
are lined up to fly both through
and over, but one of the favour-
ite challenges is the airpin
turns. French explains, "If you
were racing on the ground they
would be called hairpin turns.
We are flying so they are air -
pins." These consist of three ver-
tical banners mounted high
above the ground with a brace
midway up. The pilots must fly
between two of the banners,
then come to almost a complete
stop to make a quick turn to fly
back through the opposite side.
The stress of performing the
maneuvers required to com-
plete laps while trying for the
best time is inherent in all rac-
ing. Not only is the track a chal-
lenge, the technology can be
compromised, as well. Quads
often have parts knocked off
from coming into contact with
the obstacles, or even parts of
the building. Some of the
crashes occur when the pilot
loses the visual signal from their
quad, known as the "black
screen of death':
CONTINUED > PAGE 3
FREE TRAVEL SEMINAR
HANOVER HOLIDAYS — President (Jim) will talk
about motor - coach touring with specific focus
on Atlantic Canada — forget the exchange rate
and expensive medical insurance!!
Tuesday, April 12 at our Clinton office
at 7:00 PM RSVP 519-482-7771
or travel@qtrips.ca