What's it like to fly a racing drone?

Another in a series of podcasts on drone racing, this episode looks at it from the perspective of the pilot.

Paul Baur is a UAS Consultant and a competitive drone pilot.  He’s been racing for more than a year, competing in organized drone races in the United States and Canada.  On this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Paul talks about how he got started with drone racing, the advantages of having sponsors, what it’s like to race a drone competitively and what it takes to stay on top in this rapidly growing sport.  If you have dreams of serious drone racing, then you’re going to want to hear what Paul has to say. 

This is a special, bonus edition of the Drone Radio Show.  Recently, I interviewed Patrick Egan of the sUAS News about drones and some regulatory challenges.  This interview will air in the coming weeks.  But near the end of our conversation, Patrick talked about an upcoming Small Unmanned Systems Business Expo, or the SUSB Expo.  This will be a great forum to learn about drone business opportunities and to meet some of the leaders in the industry.

In this bonus edition of the Drone Radio Show podcast, Patrick tells us what the expo is about and why you should attend.

Is Drone Racing ready for Live TV?

If you ask today’s guest, he’d say he’s doing everything possible to make it happen.

Chris Toombs is founder and technology manager at FPVLive.TV, a start-up company specializing in live streaming of drone races. On this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Chris talks about FPVLive.TV and the services it offers to local race organizers.

Over the past few months, Drone Racing has emerged as a legitimate business. In fact, it’s getting big enough to spin-off sub-industries. And one of those opportunities is live streaming of drone races. If we follow the path of other new sports, it won’t be long before drone racing pops up on our weekend TV screens. So today, not only are we hearing about an exciting drone application, this could be the start of a competitive new industry.

Want to help scientist monitor the impacts of climate change?

If you’re in California, then you have a unique opportunity to do just that. Kirk Klausmeyer, a senior conservation analyst with the Nature Conservancy in California. He’s leading a citizen-scientist initiative using cell phones and drones to document California’s coastal flooding conditions. The ultimate objective is to measure the impacts of climate change and sea level rise and develop measures to reduce future impacts.  In this episode of the Drone Radio Show, Kirk talks about the Nature Conservancy, the Phone and Drones Program and other technology applications helping planners monitor climate change.

This is a special bonus edition of the Drone Radio Show podcast to highlight a unique drone racing event that is occurring as this podcast airs. Halfway across the world, more than 100 drone racing teams from all over the world are competing in the first World Drone Prix race in Dubai. Thirty-two qualifying teams will compete for the global champion’s purse of total prizes of one million dollars – the biggest purse of its kind to date.

In this episode, we hear from Omar Al Olama, Secretary General of the World Organization of Racing Drones in Dubai, who will tell us about the Drone Grand Prix and how drone racing is about to become a new world racing spectacle.

Are you ready to race your drone?

Then you’re going to like what today’s guest on the Drone Radio Show has to say, because chances are, he may soon be responsible for creating a drone race club in your community.

Chris Thomas is the founder of MultiGP, a grassroots racing organization with a mission to make FPV multirotor racing a real sport. With nearly 300 active chapters worldwide, MultiGP provides the rules, equipment, and software for FPV racing. He’s here to talk about the MultiGP League, why it’s different from other drone racing formats and how we can be a part of one of the fastest growing sports in the world.

How are we integrating UAS into the National Air Space?

In 2014, after a rigorous 10-month selection process involving 25 proposals from 24 states, the Federal Aviation Administration selected six UAS research and test sites across the country. One of those test sites is the Mid Atlantic Aviation Partnership, or MAAP for short, and includes the States of Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey.  Research in the three states will include a variety of activities designed to facilitate the integration of UAS into the national airspace.

Rose Mooney, the Executive Director of MAAP, did her graduate work at Liberty University and is a former Director of UAS Airspace Integration at AAI/Textron. She was also the Vice President of Archangel Aero and the President of the Unmanned National Industry Team which represented the UAS in the US and Internationally.  On this edition of the Drone Radio Show, Rose talks about the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership and how their research is helping to integrate UAS into the national air space.