Behind The FPV Goggles: Hazak

Drone Racing and FPV Freestyle are some of the fastest growing sports in the world. Meet the men and women behind the goggles, who are changing the way we see our planet.

Chris Haskins has the job many pilots dream of; he not only races drones, but gets paid to build and develop them. He took us to Sycamore Park in Boise to show us where he and his FPV crew train. "I’ve always wanted to fly since I was a kid. I was looking for RC planes or to get in a plane somehow. Couldn’t afford RC drones… got a phantom drone -- posted videos, got set up by a friend who told him to check out drone racing. And immediately as soon as i saw the videos, with the drone racing I was like i have to do this. It's what I’ve been looking for my whole life.
I moved over from an IT job doing the computer networking stuff like that so i get that geek-aspect. I love the technology that’s the fun part, looking at all the new technology and what’s coming up. Testing all that new stuff. Now I get to do that and get paid to do it basically," Chris said.

Thrust-UAV started as a drone manufacturing company. Now it is part of PCS Edventures, a STEM education company that works with robots and drones to get kids interested in technology. "We’re building kits for students, after school programs, during school they can learn all about drones, sped controllers, props, GPS all that stuff," Chris said. When he's not building drones, Chris is flying them. A self-described adrenaline junkie, he loves to push himself and his teammates to fly harder. "There’s not many times there’s no risk to your body, but you can get the same adrenaline as you do riding a snow mobile or motorcycle or jet ski and be perfectly safe and get that every weekend at not much cost," Chris said.

Boise is a really cool area and Chris has a few favorite locations to fly in. "We have the Boise River so we’ve gone up and down the Boise River where you wouldn’t be able to do that any other way. And then we have a reservoir we’ve gone up and down and have that aerial view and then dive bomb it, you don’t get that perspective from the ground," he said.

With more and more people building and customizing their drones. Chris says the sky's the limit for where the sport can go. "I see it getting pretty big for the fact that basically kids old people can all compete in the same playing field, depending on how much practice they put in. It’s real attractive. And the fact that to be competitive doesn’t cost much compared to any other power sport, motorcycles, ..can cost you thousands of bucks, where as drone racing is under 1,000 bucks. And you can start competing with people in your area." Chris is seeing the next generation of pilots first hand. His 12 year old daughter is following in his footsteps; "She goes by CrazyK and she's currently in the intermediate group. I love it. It’s one thing to get her away from typical girl stuff and she’s always had an interest in whatever i’m working on, technology and she gets to do hands on and see the footage afterwards. We have a good time together."

To hear from all of your favorite drone racing and freestyle pilots, check out www.airvuz.com/user/BehindTheGoggles. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Kendall Mark: Drone racing and FPV freestyle are some of the fastest growing sports in the world. Meet the men and women behind the goggles, who are changing the way we see our planet. Chris [Haskins 00:00:27] has the job many pilots dream of. He not only [00:00:30] races drones, but he gets paid to build and develop them. He took us to Sycamore Park in Boise, to show us where he and his crew like to train. Chris Haskins: Yeah, I've always wanted to fly, since I was a kid I was always looking for RC planes, or get in a plane somehow. Never could afford anything RC when I was a kid, so finally I got one of those Phantom type drones, and started flying that, and loved it. And then started posting videos and that's where I got found [00:01:00] out by a comrade [inaudible 00:01:01] Speaker 3: Hi. Chris Haskins: And he's like, you got to check out drone racing. And immediately, as soon as I saw the videos, with the drone racing, I'm like, I got to do this. This is what I've been looking for my whole life. I moved over from an IT job, working at Micron, doing the computer networking and things like that, so I kind of get that geek aspect. I love the technology and so- Speaker 3: The geek aspect. Chris Haskins: Yeah. And on the relay [inaudible 00:01:29] for the code and the new hardware. Speaker 3: [00:01:30] Over my head. Chris Haskins: That's the fun part is looking at all the new technology and what's coming out and testing all that stuff out and now I get to do that. And you get paid to do that basically. Kendall Mark: Thrust QAV started as a manufacturer of racing drones. Now it developed custom drones for clients and was part of PCS Adventures, a STEM education company. Chris Haskins: I worked with the education side so we're building kits for students that can, you know, after school programs, during school, they can learn all about drones, speed controllers, [00:02:00] props, compasses, all that stuff. Kendall Mark: When he's not building drones, Chris is flying them. A self-described adrenaline junkie, he loves to push himself and his teammates to fly harder. Chris Haskins: There's not very many times where you can ... This is no risk to your body, but you can get the same adrenaline as you do like riding a motorcycle or a snowmobile or a jet ski and be perfectly safe and get that every weekend at not much cost. Kendall Mark: You live in a really cool area. Where is your favorite place to fly around here? I mean, obviously there's parks, they're really great [inaudible 00:02:30] [00:02:30] but have you ever gone up in the mountains? Is there anything else from that quad perspective that's just like amazing? Chris Haskins: Yeah, we have the Boise River so we've gone up and down the Boise River, you know, up and down where you wouldn't be able to do that any other way. And then we have a reservoir up here that we've gone up and down and have that aerial view and then just dive on it, it's like, you don't get that perspective from the ground. Kendall Mark: But one time, he got a little too close to the elements. And few into the snow. Rookie mistake. Chris Haskins: [00:03:00] That's actually when I first started and I didn't know any better. So, I was excited. This was like October. Couldn't fly in the parking garage. Took it out in the snow to try to see if the thing would actually fly. And then end up crash ... I didn't understand battery voltage and sag and all that stuff, crashing in the snow and then having to rush it home and put it in the oven and try to dry it out. Kendall Mark: Wait, you put your ... You put it in the oven? Chris Haskins: I did. I put it like lowest temperature as possible, and tried to ... I didn't know any better, so just tried to dry that thing out. It's the only thing [00:03:30] I could think of. Kendall Mark: I guess. How did that turn out? Chris Haskins: Snow and drones don't work out very well together. Kendall Mark: With more and more people building and customizing their drones, Chris says the sky's the limit for where the sport can go. Chris Haskins: I see it getting pretty big for the fact that basically kids and old people can all compete in the same playing field, just depending on how much practice they put in. It's real attractive. And then the fact that to be competitive doesn't cost much compared to any other, you know, power sports, motorcycles, things like that, you're into [00:04:00] several thousand dollars where in a drone, you can start racing for under a thousand bucks and start competing with people in your area. Kendall Mark: Chris has seen the next generation of pilots first hand. His 12 year old daughter is following in dad's footsteps. Chris Haskins: Goes by Crazy K. She's currently in the intermediate group, so she's trying to work her ranks up to start competing with Zero Sorrell. Kendall Mark: How cool is that? To have that kind of relationship with your daughter? Chris Haskins: Oh, I love it. It's one thing to kind of get away from all the typical girl stuff and she's always had an interest in [00:04:30] whatever I'm working on, you know, technology and she just actually gets to do hands on and experience and then see the [inaudible 00:04:36] so yeah, we have a good time together.