Summer events and FPV
I hope everyone is enjoying the end of the summer flying season! The weather has been good in Muncie, Indiana, for the last few weeks, and the events held at the AMA International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) have gone well.
We started in June with the Extreme Flight Championship (XFC), and then moved into July and the AMA Nats. Things looked bleak with lots of rain and flooding in the area, but the event management worked through the issues and had successful contests. As the Nats began, the rain persisted through the start of RC Pylon, but finally we were blessed with good weather for the rest of the events.
The International Radio Control Helicopter Association (IRCHA) hosts its annual IRCHA Jamboree in early August. The weather was good, and this year’s event was a success.
Right after the IRCHA Jamboree was National Model Aviation Day, also held at the IAC. Several events were part of the day’s activities. I wanted to highlight a specific one, an AMA-sanctioned FPV Drone Race!
During the IRCHA event, Chris Thomas of MultiGP.com, an FPV drone racing organization, held some races to introduce some of the IRCHA members to this new activity. Several racers attended and people had a lot of fun! I used the experience to learn more about FPV racing, so that I could host the race during National Model Aviation Day the following weekend.
Chris graciously donated five racing gates for the event, and left the course in place for me to use. With Chris’ training and my experience from the previous week, I was able to run the races. Seven AMA members showed up with their machines to race. We flew three rounds with three heats in each round, and everyone had a great time.
Several spectators came and were able to watch the races from the grandstands and had the opportunity to try some FPV goggles and get a racer’s perspective. Several monitors were set up for spectators to watch the races.
The races were fun, safe, and totally within the guidelines of FPV as set forth in the AMA Safety Code and Document 550, which is the Safety Code Addendum relating to FPV operations. All of the flights used spotters, and the racecourse was a safe distance from the pilot line and spectators.
The racing results were:
First place: Paul Nurkkala
Second place: Bruce Luckcuck
Third place: Patrick McKee
I want to thank the competitors who came to support National Model Aviation Day at AMA Headquarters and to participate in this race! We hope to have many more, and we hope that AMA clubs will embrace this part of the multirotor or drone community. It is lots of fun and fits in perfectly with traditional flying such as Club 40 Pylon Racing and fun-flys.
I believe that many clubs have questions and are not even sure if flying these events is in line with the AMA Safety Code. I can assure you that it is. It is easy to create a fun course that meets our AMA rules.
If your club has questions about drone racing and how it can be done within AMA guidelines, I would be happy to assist you. Multirotor aircraft are just another model type—much like the RC helicopter was a new type of aircraft back in the 1970s. It took a long time to get modelers to accept that new type of aircraft (some still don’t), and allow it to fly at their field, and it seems that history is repeating itself with the multirotor. Although there will always be those who operate unsafely and illegally, there are many more who enjoy these aircraft while operating safely and within the AMA Safety Code parameters. These modelers who operate safely, or are coming to your AMA club to learn how to operate safely, should be welcomed and encouraged. AMA clubs have been welcoming newcomers for more than 80 years, and doing it well!
Many traditional modelers have purchased these aircraft and are showing up at their flying sites and having fun. However, like anything else that is new and different, they are not accepted by everyone—at least not at first.
I challenge you, as a modeler, to give these aircraft a chance to prove that they can be flown safely and within the AMA Safety Code, and be a lot of fun. I also challenge you to stand up for the right of a fellow modeler to enjoy his or her choice of aircraft, whether it be fixed-wing airplanes, helicopters, turbines or electric ducted fan jets, Giant Scale, 3-D, or even drones!
