AV News: FPV Drone Racing vs. FPV Freestyle

Drone Racing and FPV Freestyle are some of the fastest growing sports in the world. Here's what they have in common and what sets them apart. Let’s start with FPV an acronym for First Person View. This means pilots wear goggles that let them see what the drone sees. A camera, that is placed on top of the drone, transmits a signal to the pilots goggles, giving them that unique “flight-like” vantage point. Next up, the quadcopter, or quad for short. There are a ton of parts and ingredients that go into make a great quad, but we’ll keep it simple. The basics are: a carbon fiber frame, three or four props (or propellers), motors, power distribution board, a battery, ESCs (aka electronic speed controllers, they tell the propellers how fast to spin), a camera, and the flight controller. Now that you get the set up, let’s go over the difference between racing and freestyle. In drone racing, pilots focus on creating a quad that is as fast and precise as possible. Racing tracks can be inside around cones and tents, outside, through abandoned buildings, in the dark through illuminated structures, just about anywhere as long as there is a predetermined course. Pilots usually race head to head with 3-5 other pilots, the winner or top two finishers moving on to the next round. There are different classes, like the Mini MultiRotor Class and Micro MultiRotor Class. The different classes require different frame, battery, or prop sizes. Just about every pilot can both race and freestyle fly. They just prefer or specialize in one or the other. FPV Freestyle is considered a more free form of flight. Many freestyle pilots think of it as art or a form of expression. Freestyle events are timed, but it’s just one pilot flying and if they crash, they can pick the quad back up, fix it if necessary, and get back in the air again. Since it’s not a head to head like racing, freestyle is a much more subjective event, with judges determining the best run based on creativity, tricks, risks, and more. Outside of the racing circuit, most freestyle pilots spend countless hours finding new, unique places to practice and perfect their craft. They are constantly trying to create the next best run. There you have it, the basics of FPV Drone Racing and FPV Freestyle. Visit AirVuz.com to see all the best racing and freestyle videos.