Late last month, a tiny patch of sky above Mumbai came abuzz with a very unique challenge of skills. Though there was intense competition, none participating were physically exerting themselves aside from dealing with the oppressive summer heat.
Though they were racing, there were no vehicles they could ride in, except the ones that shuttled them to the event. And though there were competitors they were across a wide range of ages, from high schoolers to working professionals.
Images courtesy: Gwyn D'Mello
Organized by SMAAASH Entertainment Private Limited, the name of the game was drone racing, a sport that¡¯s taken off internationally but is still ratcheting up to its full potential here in India. The SMAAASH Drone League was one of the first such sponsored events here in India, and one the company plans to make an international competition soon.
But despite its infancy, the competitors themselves are seriously dedicated, pouring every ounce of blood, sweat, and grease into making themselves the fiercest fliers in the game.
This particular league event featured 21 professional Indian pilots, and plenty of amateurs as well, looking to take on the bigwigs. And you could easily write this off as a glorified pastime, but you¡¯d be sorely mistaken.?
After all, each type of race has rigid specifications that pilots must adhere to, much like Formula 1. For this one in particular, drones had to weigh at least 450g, with a 5-inch-wide frame. In addition, they need to have multi-colour LEDs (so judges can assign a colour and track racers accordingly), and an on-board camera. Why that last one? Well, because the pilots are using their own headsets to fly races in first-person view (FPV)
FPV flying means wearing a headset broadcasting your drone's view to you in real time
The specifications themselves may be just to make sure all pilots are on even footing, but it matters greatly to the competitors themselves. That¡¯s because these guys aren¡¯t just in the driver¡¯s seat, they¡¯re also their own navigators and engineers. Each pilot has to build his own drone to meet the race requirements (though most races usually adhere to one of two standard sets of rules).
The competition is getting younger each year
And yet, some of these speedsters are as young as 14 years old. Take, Ritvik Nesargi for instance. While this 22-year-old is about the average age of Indian drone racers today, he¡¯s turned pro with just a year and a half of experience under his belt, all while still in college in Pune.
Professional drone pilot Ritvik Nesargi
It¡¯s not easy doing this professionally either, with competition as fierce as it is and available prize money to win so rare. Flying a drone in an FPV race takes a supreme amount of skill, experience, and lightning-fast reflexes. When the drones are flying laps through hoops and around obstacles at 120 kmph, all you have are microseconds to make minor adjustments that¡¯ll perhaps take you ahead of the competition or send you crashing to the dirt. Ritvik proved just that this past month, when he snagged the gold in the pro-level tournament.
Ritvik's vehicle to victory
It¡¯s not been easy to gain that level of skill either, to hear Ritvik tell it. In fact, he feels he¡¯s had a bit of an advantage living in Pune with wide open spaces to practice nearby. In a place like Mumbai, those are hard to come by. After all, even if it¡¯s not authorities cracking down on drone-flying in residential areas, your neighbours probably wouldn¡¯t be too pleased with a hunk of metal and plastic zipping past their windows and nearly crashing into their cars. And yeah, getting hit in the face with one of these at top speed absolutely can hurt.
¡°When the Indian Drone Racing League (IDRL) started organising races two years ago the major competition was from the older crowd, in their 20s and 30s,¡± Ritvik says. ¡°These days, the young kids are our toughest competition. We have college or work to attend to as well, but these kids can get home from school and practice the entire evening.¡±
And those are just two of the crucial components needed to go pro in drone racing; time and space to practice. But the third, and equally important need, he points out, is money. You see, you can find budget drones at the mall or online, and you can build one for as little as Rs 10,000. But to be competition ready, you need to throw down a bare minimum of Rs 30,000. In fact, pro drone racers spend anywhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 80,000 building a drone, with all of that money going into finding the right motors, batteries, propellers, radios, as well as replacing parts when you inevitably crash during a doomed practice run. And keep in mind, just like a car racing team will have spare parts in case of mechanical failure, drone racers usually keep a second entire unit spare every time they step up to the pilot¡¯s seat.
And yet, these racers are undaunted, constantly digging deep to show the world the stuff they¡¯re made of. They do have a lot to prove after all; they want sponsors and event organisers across India to see what can be achieved, they want fans and newbies alike to sit up and take notice, and most of all they want to put India on the international map as a drone-racing heavyweight.