Inside the Drone Racing League

The Drone Racing League, which is part competition, part technology, and part entertainment, is the latest innovation in the world of sports. NBC’s Gadi Schwartz speaks with the league’s president and top players to dive into the future of organization. 

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[justin]

I don’t think people understand how immersive FPV is. Feels like a super power when you get good at flying.

[FpvSage]

😂 I remember those days of not being able to control the drone.

[FaridShahidinejad]

Somewhere there is a military general splooging while watching this.

[williaml-weoz]

I have massive respect for every one of these pilots, being a drone pilot myself. Its really amazing to see the sport take off so quickly and continue to grow, as the industry and technology grows too, making drones more and more accessible. However, the red bull air races are cooler ;)

[pandoranbias]

I don't think the majority of people understand how insane your skill and reaction time has to be to accurately pilot these machines through these courses as fast as possible.

[joshuarosen]

It may appeal to a younger audience but I wouldn't qualify as younger by any standard and I think fpv drones are very exciting. I'm currently about 30 hours into practising with Velocidrone and I'm still pretty crap but I've been having fun. Once I am confident I'm not going to trash or lose my drone immediately, I'll buy a drone and I'm really looking forward to it.

I've always wanted to be able to fly since I was a little boy. I have dreamt about it more times than I could possibly count. I'm never going to be able to fly but an fpv drone is a pretty attractive alternative.

[jrummyjs]

the general public don't really understand how hard it is to fly fpv but once you get the hang of it its so rewarding.

[CogitoErgoSumFortis]

I think they should do it like in F1, for each team to build their own drones, have pilots and eventually sponsors, which can be drone companies. And eventually managing the rules to incentivate improvements in drone technology as F1 has done for the car industry.

[Agar]

Just waiting for the anime, the next level of tamiya

[mrfourtysevenman]

im in the rc plane and helicopter hobby. its done a lot. its both expanded the hobby (added 30 paying members to my local club) but also idiots have gotten into it and said "hey im gonna see how close i can fly to the blue angels" its done some damage here and there. a lot of the guys who flew helicopters switched to drones causing a lot of really good helicopter brands to go out of business. i like how sophisticated they try to make the drones seem "1500 parts in this drone" lmao its a stick with motors on it. but when you build one yourself and put the goggles on the experience is amazing. i find myself leaning over a lot trying to stand there while im zipping the thing around. everybody should have one. except people who are going to do something stupid with it

[rodhammack]

😊 very cool. The fpv cameras make drone racing dynamic for the viewer. This view makes the scale of the actual racetrack less relevant allowing for competitions to be set up in basic sports arenas, gyms, and warehouses. I also love that the scale of the actual drones is small keeping the price down. Making this racing league easy for novices to access.I am Waiting for the official drone racing video game as those obstacles and tight camera views look fun and difficult to fly.

[nzdwfvs]

Watching those drones race is like watching a Star Wars space fight. Cool!! 👍🏼👍🏼😎

[JonEFPV]

Great coverage, I was at the event and able to get interviews from all 12 racers, that I am featuring on my channel. Such an exciting new sport.

[pewcfpv]

Used to be into the hobby years ago but quickly realized it gets expensive VERY fast when learning to fly because of the crashes. Maybe I'll get back into it one day when I'm making more money lol. Definitely one of the most fun hobbies I've ever had.

[brianseo]

This looks amazing. I'm glad I live in this timeline.

[chrisvielle]

Watching the evolution of drone racing the past years is everything I hoped for. It's way cheaper now to get into the hobby. I'm addicted to freestyle, chasing birds ( respectfully) is something I never thought I would be doing ever...

[Dimaz]

besides drone racing, drone laser tag is also pretty fun to watch

[FPVslayer]

I love that they have him learning in ACRO mode. No self levelling around the DRL 😂

[joseparra]

This is gonna blow up in more way then we can imagine!!!

[sasugashogun]

That news reporter guy reminds me of the first time my family played Mario Brothers on the first Nintendo, we'd jerk our arms and bodies trying to make Mario jump and move. He's doing that with the simulation. 2:52