First-person drone racing is much harder than I expected

Sebastian Anthony

The protagonist of this story: me. Note how I am almost as tall as the room—not ideal for flying finicky drones.

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The floor extends in every direction as far as the eye can see, punctuated irregularly by oil barrels and pillars of rustic brick. The lighting is odd; bright white and purple, with hints of the London skyline through a distant window. For a brief moment, my vision is completely filled by a giant pair of shoes. But then the feet are gone! And the horizon is clear! I wish myself forwards and upwards... and I'm flying! FLYINGGG!!!

And then three seconds later I hit a barrel, a propeller flies off with a whiz-crunch, and I tumble gracelessly to the floor. The landing is hard, and somehow I'm flipped upside down. I lay there for a few minutes, neutered and useless, contemplating the poor life choices that led to this sad end.

Such is the brutality of first-person view (FPV) drone racing.

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