World first: Straight Line Racing at the 2018 FAI World Drone Racing Championships
Over the next three days, 62 of the world’s best drone racers will be battling it out to claim the first ever FAI world record for speed over 100m with a racing drone.
As well as having a chance to become the new FAI world record holder, the winner of this event - the first of its kind - will receive a cash prize of $3,000.
What is Straight Line Racing?
Straight Line Racing is a totally new drone-racing format being premiered at the 2018 FAI World Drone Racing Championships in Shenzhen, China.
Championships Jury President Bruno Delor said: “To my knowledge, this is the first time an competition of this kind has been held anywhere in the world.”
Like the 100m sprint in athletics, Straight Line Racing takes place on a special track measuring exactly 100m – and the aim is to reach the finish line ahead of the other competitors.
“The most difficult element of the new format is to maintain a high speed without deviating from the line," said FAI Aeromodelling Commission Official Bengt Lindgren.
The world record attempt
The Straight Line Racing event in Shenzhen will take place over three days, with the semi finals on Saturday November 3 and a final involving the four fastest pilots being held just before 6pm local time on Sunday November 4.
In the heats and the semi final, competitors will race in one direction along the track. However, in the final, the top four will race in one direction, stop, then race back in the other direction - allowing judges to calculate their average time over two laps.
FAI Aeromodelling Commission President Antonis Papadopoulos said: “We are running the final in this way because FAI rules state that pilots must fly in both directions for a world record attempt.”
Photo credit: FAI/Marcus King
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