

“There’s the actual strategic side, where you’re trying to compete at your best level within the rules, and you have to finish first in the most races,” he said. The strategic aspect of drone racing comprises both physical and mental components, he said. “It’s based on: did you fly better than the next guy?” “For all the pilots, what determines whether you get to the finish gate first or last is based off of how you fly the drone,” Turner said. This uniformity in the equipment levels the playing field to where victory is achieved solely based on the skill of the pilot. They’re the people behind the scenes, maintaining all the drones, setting them all up for the pilots beforehand.” “The DRL has done all the research and development,” Turner said. Unlike in auto racing, where competing teams design and build their own vehicles, DRL racers all operate the same make and model of drone, the custom-built DRL Racer4. I was kind of next in line to take my shot at it.”Ĭompeting at the level of the DRL requires a combination of skill and strategy. “DRL was pushing to find the best pilots in the world. Turner began competing in amateur drone races at the age of 14 and joined the DRL at 16. “About the time when I was 12 years old, my Dad got into drones, because he wanted to be better than me at something.” “My dad would get frustrated that I was better than him,” he said. Turner said the switch was also partly the result of his mastery of R-C aircraft exceeding that of his father. This was flying remote-control planes, before drones even existed.”Īfter several years, as technologically sophisticated drones began taking over the hobbyist market for unmanned aircraft, the father-son duo switched to the newer kind of unmanned aerial vehicles. “When my Dad came home from work and I’d come home from school, I’d get on the simulator.

“I have flown something that flies in remote control since I was 6 years old, alongside my dad,” he recalled.
#Fpv drone racing series
Pilots compete during a multi-city tour in a series of virtual and physical competitions.įor Turner, who celebrated his 19 th birthday last month, re-winning his DRL championship is the high point of his young life, and caps a career of piloting unmanned aerial vehicles that began at a very young age.

#Fpv drone racing professional
The DRL, the premier global professional drone racing league, challenges elite pilots to fly custom-built racing drones traveling at speeds of up to 90 mph.
