Drone racing

What drone racing is

Drone racing grew out of the FPV hobby in the mid-2010s, once small cameras, video transmitters and goggles let pilots fly from the drone’s own point of view. It is now an international sport. The FAI, the world governing body for air sports, runs a World Cup and a world championship; leagues such as MultiGP and the Drone Racing League hold seasons of their own; and countries including Poland crown national champions.

A racing drone has little in common with a camera drone. It has no GPS, no altitude hold and no autopilot, and FAI rules forbid automatic positioning altogether. The pilot controls the throttle and every rotation directly with two sticks, and the drone does exactly what the sticks say. That is what makes it fast — and why flying one well takes years of practice.

How a race works

The course is a loop of gates and flags on a field, in a hall or inside a stadium, often lit for night racing. Pilots sit or stand together in the pilots’ area, goggles on, while their drones wait on the start pads. Each drone carries LED lights in its pilot’s colour so spectators can tell them apart.

At the 2024 FAI World Drone Racing Championship, the competition ran in three stages:

• QualifyingPilots fly timed rounds in small groups. The ranking is set by their fastest laps.
• EliminationThe 64 fastest qualifiers race in heats of four, over three laps. The top two in each heat go through, and a double-elimination bracket gives every pilot a second chance before they are out.
• FinalA single race of three laps. The first pilot across the line is world champion.

Other competitions use their own formats and points systems, and some, like the Drone Racing League, have every pilot fly identical drones built by the league. The essentials don’t change: find the fastest clean line through every gate, keep the drone in the air, and finish.

The racing drone

A typical racing drone is a quadcopter on a carbon-fibre frame, with propellers of around five inches. It is built to be light, stiff and quick to repair, because crashes are part of racing. FAI rules cap it at 1 kg including the battery, with propellers of up to six inches and a battery of up to six lithium-polymer cells. On a straight, a racing drone flies well over 100 km/h.

• The drone: a frame, four motors, a flight controller, a camera and a video transmitter.
• FPV goggles: show the camera’s picture live, with as little delay as possible. Races use analogue or digital video in the 5.8 GHz band, each pilot on their own channel.
• The radio: a handheld transmitter with two sticks. Racing pilots fly in acro mode, in which the drone never levels itself.
• Batteries: a pack lasts a few minutes at race pace, so pilots bring many to every event.

The biggest competitions

Drone racing has no single world series yet. These are the competitions that count most, with Paweł Laszczak’s result at each.

Drone racing in Poland

Poland has a small but strong drone racing scene. Pilots race at local events and in national series through the season, and the best compete at the Polish Championship for the title of champion of Poland. Paweł Laszczak has won it three times, in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Micro-drone racing is popular too. Tiny whoops — drones of around 20 grams with guarded propellers — race indoors on tight, technical courses, and Whoop of Poland runs a national series of these races.

Poland is represented in the FAI by Aeroklub Polski, and Polish pilots race FAI World Cup events across Europe and beyond. Paweł Laszczak’s results — silver at The World Games 2022, four FAI World Cup ranking medals, the first Polish start in the Drone Racing League and the 2024 MultiGP world title — make him Poland’s most successful drone racing pilot.

How to start drone racing

1. Learn on a simulator

   Connect a radio transmitter to a computer and fly a drone racing simulator such as Liftoff, Velocidrone or the DRL Simulator. Crashes cost nothing, and the same radio will later fly your real drone.

2. Fly a tiny whoop

   A small micro drone with guarded propellers is safe to fly indoors, and it teaches you to fly through goggles in tight spaces.

3. Know the rules before you fly outdoors

   In Poland, register as a drone operator with the Civil Aviation Authority (ULC) at drony.gov.pl and, for a drone of 250 g or more, pass the online A1/A3 exam. Under EU rules, flying with goggles requires an observer standing next to you who keeps the drone in sight.

4. Build your first racing drone

   Many pilots build their own five-inch drone, which teaches them to repair it after crashes. That is how Paweł Laszczak started in 2016: an eighth-grade school project, put together with a soldering iron and guides from the internet.

5. Go racing

   Find a club or a local race and enter. A whoop race or a beginners’ class makes a good first event. After that it comes down to practice: fly often, time your laps and watch back your goggle recordings.

Questions