Drone racing offers new opportunities

The New York Times published recently a story on drone racing, indicating the hobby is becoming more popular. While the Times is often mocked for catching onto trends when they’re no longer news, the newspaper’s coverage does mean something is getting more attention simply by virtue of its audience. The racing trend represents new opportunities for the drone industry for a number of reasons, especially if it continues to get more popular. Some video games now have highly competitive international tournaments through which top performers are able to make a living. It’s not far-fetched to see a future in which competitive drone racers are shelling out top dollar for the best hardware they can get their hands on.

One of the most obvious implications of the drone racing trend is for sales of replacement parts due to frequent crashes. Carlos Puertolas, whose drone videos are popular on YouTube, told the Times that the competitive drone operators go through a lot of propellers. The BBC did a story in April on drone racing, focusing on a group called the Aerial Grand Prix. The people in this racing league fly DIY drones, tinkering with and optimizing their own vehicles specifically for racing. The more popular but larger and heavier drones such as the DJI Phantom won’t do. Racing drones tend to be about a third of the weight of the Phantom, according to the Times, at just over one pound.

This new trend has not gone unnoticed by manufacturers. Some of those found on Global Sources already have drones listed for “racing” or as “racers.” As this hobby expands, it may result eventually in different classes of drone racers. People who do it more for fun, not in official competitive leagues, might not mind buying prebuilt racing drones. The more competitive racers, though, are likely prefer to build their own, or might even be required to by league rules. For that demographic, a ready supply will be obviously important.