Behind The FPV Goggles: StingersSwarm

Drone Racing and FPV Freestyle are some of the fastest growing sports on the planet. Meet the men and women behind the goggles changing the way we see our planet. Commercial airline pilot Kevin Dougherty, aka StingersSwarm, brought us to one of his favorite flying venues, the "Concrete Explosion" named for it's ability to wreak havoc on Kevin's quads. Kevin tells host Kendall Mark what the main difference between flying quads and airplanes is, how he and fellow Atlanta fliers are teaching kids all about drones, and what went behind one of his favorite crash videos. See all the best FPV Freestyle and Drone Racing Videos on AirVuz.com. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Kendall Mark: ROM 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. Commercial pilot, Kevin Dougherty, AKA StingerSwarm, brought us to one of his favorite flying venues, [00:00:30] the Concrete Explosion, named for its ability to wreak havoc on Kevin's quads. Kevin Dougherty: Ladies and gentlemen, from the flight deck, I'd like to welcome you aboard Delta Connection flight 5423, with service to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We're currently number four in line for departure. We should have you into Albuquerque on time. At this moment, I'd like to ask our flight attendants to please prepare the cabin for departure. Recording: 20 seconds. Kendall Mark: Good. You're kind of somebody who, yes, is a pilot, and you fly for major airlines- Kevin Dougherty: Yep. Kendall Mark: But, [00:01:00] you're also a drone pilot who's trying to break the mold in this industry. Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Kendall Mark: What's that balance like? Kevin Dougherty: I take a measured approach. I am not one to take risks, I don't like flying where there's a lot of people. This is a perfect example, because you can do really cool things, and there's nobody here. If I crash, the only thing that happens is that I break my equipment. That's kind of the way that I like it. Kendall Mark: A lot of people who fly aren't necessarily pilots. Kevin Dougherty: Yeah. Kendall Mark: What's the biggest difference between flying, how you fly [00:01:30] for work, compared to how you fly for fun? Kevin Dougherty: Well, how I fly for work is very much focused on safety, and consistency. But, with the quads, the immediate thing that I was drawn to was, "I can crash it." So, I can try really risky stuff, and if I crash it, it's just my wallet that hurts. Skateboarding, photography, cinematography. These are all hobbies of mine, prior to flying [00:02:00] quads. When I was a skateboarder, I always felt like I could have been better if I wasn't afraid of hurting myself. But, with the quads, I promised myself that I would never put my gear ahead of footage. So, if I have an idea that seems like it would be cool or impressive, I just go and try it. 'Cause, worst-case-scenario, I break some stuff, and I can always get more stuff. Kendall Mark: And, crash, he does. Speaker 4: [inaudible 00:02:32] Kevin Dougherty: [00:02:30] Woo. All I did was break one prop. Kendall Mark: The first time you put on goggles, having come from a traditional pilot background, was it almost scary when you crashed? Did you feel like you were flying? Kevin Dougherty: Yes, and it still is scary- Kendall Mark: You jump. Kevin Dougherty: I still duck. Kendall Mark: You know what? It's funny we talk about crashing. Kevin Dougherty: Yeah? Kendall Mark: There's this epic video I've seen of you with a bush, and a drone. Kevin Dougherty: I did not crash, I landed on [00:03:00] the bush. I, myself, crashed into the bush. Ugh. Oh, my God. This guy doesn't have any pads on it, so you can land in grass, it's better. Or, if you can land on a bush, which is something we do often. So, I landed on the bush, but the problem was, it was in the middle of a large bush. When I tried to lean over to pick it up, I leaned with my knees, and my knees sunk into the bush, and then I tried to stop myself, but the arm goes in the bush, so I just belly-flopped it. And, [00:03:30] luckily, the GoPro was pointing right at me, recording the entire incident. Kendall Mark: Kevin, and a few of his fellow Atlanta crew members, go to local schools to show kids all the great things drones can do. He says he loves seeing their reactions [inaudible 00:03:41] quads. For those of us who don't get to hang out with Kevin during science class, we've got some advice. Kevin Dougherty: Start safe. There's no reason to risk all of your gear while you're learning. I didn't do that right off the bat. Start small. I think that it's really good to start with just RC model aircraft, and work on your coordination [00:04:00] and line-of-sight skills. That's the path that I took, honestly. Just a little bit by little bit. Kendall Mark: Step by step? Kevin Dougherty: Yeah, 'cause there's so many aspects to this that, to just dive in, I would have been overwhelmed. Kendall Mark: He's qualified for Drone Nationals in freestyle, and freestyle is where he plans to stay. Kevin Dougherty: The racing is cool, but with racing you have a predefined course where everyone's doing the same thing. And, I really like coming to a place that was not designed for flying, and getting to do what I think is gonna look [00:04:30] appealing. It's a chance to really overlay your own expression, depending on how you're feeling, and how you want to fly for the day, you're getting to put your own layer of art over something that was built for a different purpose.