• League of their own

    What exciting, new sport sees pilots navigating aircraft through three-dimensional courses? High-speed drone racing, that’s what.

    League of their own

    What exciting, new sport sees pilots navigating aircraft through three-dimensional courses? High-speed drone racing, that’s what.

    Internationally, drone racing has soared in popularity and now Africa is joining in too, with the launch of Drone Racing Africa (DRA) – the continent’s first fully funded drone racing league. The drones are piloted remotely with the help of first-person view goggles that display a live image transmitted by the unmanned aerial vehicle’s (UAV) onboard camera.

    While it’s certain to get the adrenaline pumping, there’s more to the DRA than the thrill of the flight. It’s facilitating the training of drone pilots (from practical experience to flight theory, safety and laws that apply to flying drones). And because it’s for people of all ages, even school children can learn to become professional UAV pilots.

    6 December 2016
    Image: Gallo/Getty Images