World Drone GP Dubai

If you have not heard, the big FPV racing event Dubai starts in earnest today. Leading the pack a young man from the UK and if you have been paying attention he is worth watching.

I have been following his progress over the last two years in internet forums and Lukes perseverance and tenacity has rightfully taken him places. All with the support of his family.

Its a fantastic story.

So in an unashamed act of biased go Team BanniUK!

Some training video from Luke…

So now I have my flag waving out of the way what of the event itself. It has divided the FPV racing community, perhaps because of the amount of money the organizers were able to put into it, in a rush to be first.

There will be more than one Drone International racing championships this year! I suppose that is exactly like F1 and that thing in America where cars only turn left. There are many forms of motor racing.

Of course readers here might think, well this is not drone racing at all, its model aeroplane races with extra neon and fizz. Folks have been model pylon racing for years and going much faster. They must be wondering where their million dollar prize fund is.

Then if you want to go really fast there is dynamic soaring, how does 468 mph without an engine grab you!  (that has been bettered to 505, but I like this video better)

So whilst not being autonomous racing, all forms of model aircraft competition drive innovation that will appear in the grown up RPA world eventually. Anybody that tells you components in commercial RPA are 5 or 10 times better than their model aircraft counterparts is fibbing. They are equal to and many times less reliable than the best model parts. The best model parts come out of the most demanding uses.

A last minute demand placed on Dubai competitors is to carry 200g dummy weights in qualifying that simulate the HD camera they will fly with in the main competition. This at a time when the all up weight of most enthusiasts platforms is rushing to be under the 250g FAA registration requirement.

I have a hunch this will push development of lightweight HD platforms,faster than they would have been. I am already seeing chatter.

So controversy aside the Dubai race looks exciting, will drive tech forward and make all FPV racing competitions better.

From the videos I have seen the competitors are being fantastic ambassadors, sporting and high spirited. Well done to them all.

Oh one last time, go team BanniUK all the best Luke Bannister!

Live video feeds should be here http://worlddroneprix.live/