Drone Racing, Taking Off Hobby Into A Career
In 2017, The Federal Aviation Administration predicted that the market for drones would surpass an estimated about $10 billion in the sector due to zero doubt that the industry was booming. In Malaysia, flying drones as a hobby is becoming increasingly popular for the past two to three years, realizing its purpose is not only for the military but also for everything else under the sky, from wildlife to sports and aerial photography. Also known as aerial vehicles (UAVS), it requires no human pilot on board, but instead they are either controlled by a person on the ground or autonomously via a computer program.
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For hobbyist, they would usually use a small sized drone meant recreational purposes to enjoy the thrill of flying an aircraft. Most of the UAV models are equipped with a camera to take photos and videos, while some are equipped with a headset. As personal drones become sophisticated and reliable, practical applications seem to emerge, making drone pilots no longer just hobbyists with deep pockets.
Hobby turned into a career
23-year-old Haykal Radzi, did not take long to realize that there was much more to flying drones than just a hobby. He chose to venture into a career as a drone pilot who remotely operates aircraft use for surveying and aerial photography in Geospatial Aerodyne, an international drone based managed solutions provider.
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The thrill of flying drones through unique tracks from a bird’s eye perspective gave him interest to pursue what started from a school project into a hobby and a career. “It all started when I needed to do a final year project during my diploma years. That was when I discovered my passion towards drones and soon got myself into drone racing and making a career out of it,” explained Hakqal.
Haykal had built his own First Person View Systems (FPV) drone which focus more on the durability and battery life.
FPV drone racing, a start of something new
According to Haykal, FPV drone racing is basically a sport where the drone pilot strives to build extremely fast and agile multi-rotors. Almost all drone races today are done using First Person View Systems (FPV). “FPV lets pilots see what the drone cameras see in real-time as if they were sitting in the cockpit. To me, it is the closest thing to being a bird”, he explains. “It is the same as VR headsets, but FPV headsets provides low latency which means less delay compared to VR headsets. That is especially useful when you aim for flying fast or getting through obstacles,” he added.
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In Malaysia, FPV drone racing is currently categorized as an extreme sport and it is already starting to take off. “Some people might say that the hype surrounding drones has died down, but I do believe that people who venture into drones right now are truly the pioneers of a new sport, as flying drones competitively at high speed in FPV gives you a truly intense, immersive feeling like other high speed competitive racing sports”, he says. “Racing drones require aggressive manoeuvrability, leading them to function in an unassisted mode known as rate mode, which makes them incredibly fast and difficult to control. This is where the skills come in”, add Haykal.
Building own drones and cost
His love for drones did not limit himself to just flying drones, but building his very own drones too! Currently, he owns a small drone and 3 racing drones that he built himself. For Hayqal, building his own drones gives him a much more enjoyable experience and satisfaction. “Nothing is as rewarding as spending my nights preparing, tinkering and flying my very own racing drones. When you build everything from scratch, you could invest in higher quality components, and it gives a better value for money,” says Haykal.
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The initial investment needed to get into this hobby was fairly expensive. For Haykal, speed is not the main quality that he would look for when he purchases a drone. “Durability and battery life is what I would focus on. Just for this hobby alone, I would allocate at least 300 Ringgit a month just because I need to catch up with the latest tech. But then again, drone parts get cheaper by day,” he says.
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Challenges
Across time we have heard various problems and challenges associated with drones. As for Hayqal, the challenges does not stop his passion from flying as it fuels him to progress. “There are few mechanical failures that I have faced throughout my working experience as a drone pilot. I have crashed 4 different types of DJI drones and immeasurable amounts of racing drones, but above all, the weather has always been the biggest challenge for drone owners as you cannot really fly if it is raining,” he says.
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Other than that challenge, drones owners are required to follow the regulations by the government,’ he says. “Each country has their own laws regarding drones. In Malaysia, we cannot simply fly our drones in Kuala Lumpur or in any government offices. On top of that, drone pilots must maintain a direct visual line of sight with their drones during operations. We are also prohibited from flying drones on top of big crowds in events,” explains Haykal.
Future hopes
“I hope drone enthusiasts in Malaysia will grow as big as the European drone community, The capabilities of drones in Malaysia have grown so exponentially over the past couple of years and after all drones are so much more than just a photography tool. It is about time for the government to keep pace with the developments so they could frame proper regulations for drone owners as well as develop appropriate insurance aspects of it as it is not fully defined yet,” says Haykal.