The first-ever official U.S. National Drone Racing Championships concluded today and pilots from all over the world attended the FPV race to compete against each other.

The games got underway on a Sacramento soccer field last Thursday, featuring 120 pilots from all over the world operating packs of drones zipping around an 11,000-seat stadium at speeds of up to 80 mph.

The field had been completely netted in order to avoid any close calls with spectators, but for the competitors, there was a lot at stake: The prize money totals $25,000. The event also got is getting good sponsorships too: http://dronenationals.com/sponsors/

And yes...these things are being called DRONES and with a National Championship being named as "2015 FATSHARK US NATIONAL DRONE RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS", I think those campaigning for these things to be called something else are waging a lost battle.

More information on http://dronenationals.com/

The Drone Nationals was webcast live. You can see the recordings at this URL http://livestream.com/dronenationals/.

Officials from US FAA (equivalent to our DGCA) also paid a visit to oversee the safety issues.

It was also fascinating to hear the well versed commentators and participants speak on new technology in droning, demonstrating new builds and talks on the problems being faced by hobbyists. New rules are being framed and there were different types of events: http://dronenationals.com/rules/

 

Some glimpses of the championships...





And the pilot videos..