Drone racing: New pursuit attempts to fly into the mainstream

KAILUA-KONA – These are the drones you are looking for. That is, if you are interested in drone racing, one of the fastest growing international sports to come along this century.

Nearly a year ago, very few people had ever heard of drone racing. When most people thought of drones the first thing that came to mind was Star Wars. After that, some thought of those slow moving, flying contraptions used mostly for taking aerial photos.

“These are not the same drones,” said Richard Molina, who is the team manager and a pilot for the Hawaii Drone Racing Club based in Kona. “These units are about 12 inches long with 6-inch arms and they are classified based on their props, which are usually five inches.

The main race in the 250 class, with units weighting about 2 pounds and reaching speeds of 50 to 120 miles per hour depending on the race course.”

These racing drones typically fly five to six feet off the ground and follow a track laid out on the ground.

With new leagues forming and technology continually advancing, the sport of drone racing has taken off in the last six months, similar to the way skateboarding emerged out of the fringes of society and into the mainstream during the time of Tony Hawk.

While slowly growing around the world in 2015, the sport took a giant leap in December when Dubai hosted the World Drone Prix, which awarded prizes of more than a million dollars.

Winning that race, and bringing home $250,000 in prize money, was 15-year-old Luke Bannister, who perhaps is beginning his journey to being drone racing’s first legend.

More than 2,000 fans came out to see the 150 teams compete on Dubai’s illuminated track at night, where pilots, using special goggles that connected to a camera aboard each drone, navigated using first person viewing through and around many obstacles at breakneck speeds.

“After Dubai, people began to buy into the sport, 100 percent,” Molina said. “Sponsorships have started to come aboard such as Mountain Dew, and ESPN will begin broadcasting races.”

ESPN has announced that it will start airing drone racing in August. Mountain Dew is also sponsoring a big drone race in Los Angeles around the same time.

Molina has seen the growth of the sport personally on the Big Island. He began his Kona club last November. Since then, the membership has grown to nearly 150 pilots, with 100 signing up over the last month as the team prepares for the Hawaii State FPV Championships in Maul on June 25 and 26.

Hawaii Drone Racing will send six pilots to the state championships with hopes of grabbing one or more of the 10 qualifying spots for the 2016 World Drone Racing Championships, which will take place in October on Oahu.

One of the six club members heading to Maui is Aaron Kataska, who was drawn to the sport of drone racing because it gives him, “the ability to fly without leaving the ground.”

“It is a thrill, it is a rush, and it is amazing,” Kataska said. “This is an overgrown nerd’s dream.”

Molina wants to continue growing the sport on the Big Island. He hopes to get several clubs going, though right now the Kona club is the only one up and running. One of the problems with the growth is that technology is constantly getting better, leaving most teams in catch-up mode.

“This is really cutting edge and the tech is changing so much that drones are only lasting a couple of months before they are outdated,” Molina said. “There is even a new, smaller class called nano, that has drones about the size of a drink coaster. It weighs less than an ounce.”

As a sport, drone racing is not the cheapest option available. Racing drones typically costs $450 to $1,000 and any slip up on the course could make the venture even more costly.

Despite the cost, Molina sees drone racing as something the kids can really get into.

”It is basically a video game in the outside world,” Molina said.

Hawaii Drone Racing practices most Saturdays at Hillcrest Park starting at 8:30 a.m. For more information visit Hawaii Drone Racing on Facebook.