A new breed of drone enthusiasts are developing racing machines which give users an exhilarating out-of-body experience. The newly formed racing club, known as Rotorcross, has started a national drone racing championship and believe their hobby is the next big sport to hit New Zealand.
Tiny, light-weight quadcopter drones are used during high-speed races, with satellite technology beaming live video from the cockpit back to the racer. The racers can pick up the video stream with a special headset and are suddenly given the pilot’s view, roaring the air at speeds of up to 120km/h.
Drone racer and Rotorcross member Ashton Witte says the experience is like flying a jet fighter or “playing a video game in real life”.
“It’s pretty amazing. You’re whizzing through trees and stuff and it’s really fast, it’s pretty much like you’re in Top Gun or something,” he says. “Most of us get pretty addicted to it and you spend any spare moment you can flying. It’s pretty hard not to, it’s a lot of fun.” The 27-year-old mechatronics student helps to organise regular races with Rotorcross in the South Island and says the sport is booming overseas.
“It’s been big here for around six months, but it’s only getting bigger every day,” he says. “It’s going to be huge, there’s going to be national competitions, there’ll be trans-Tasman events, there’ll be international events eventually and I can see it going a long way.”
Rotorcross runs a national series over the country, which is split into three regions; the upper North Island, lower North Island and South Island. Competitors are awarded points for their placing and are ranked on a national championship table, with a championship playoff at the end of the year. There are around 60 people involved at the moment, slotting into several different classes depending on machine power and speed.
Racer Scott Spooner, 30, has already found a sponsor and trains regularly for the championship.
“If I could do it for a living I definitely would, it’s so much fun. It’s not just a hobby – it’s a sport and a dream, all at the same time,” he says. “You find that your life gets taken over, pretty much, by these machines.”
Rotorcross membership is growing as new people learn about the sport and the price of drones drops to more accessible levels, Mr Witte says. Entry-level machines are available for between $500 and $1000, but more experienced racers typically tinker with the machine to develop with a signature drone.