Drones have been rising in popularity lately, thanks to an active DIY community, we see the technology advancing really fast and the pricing coming down as well.

If you are feeling the need to let off some steam in the sky’s and shoot down some competing drones, its easier than ever to get started.

You can buy an entry level drone for $200-$300 or get in the big league and buy a racing drone, FPV goggles and controller between $500 – $800.

Thanks to a camera that streams images in real time to your FPV  (first person view) goggles that allows you to shift your consciousness into the aircraft and fly through tiny gaps without any fear of physical danger.

You will feel the experience of sitting on the nose of a drone, as it flies around courses in venues like outdoor stadiums, factory buildings or tents.

Here are some of the bigger drone leagues you might want to explore:

Aerial Sports League (ASL), is best known for their UFC like drone combat event with added pit crews. Drone pilots attempt to destroy or force opponent’s drones to the ground.

You and your crew have a limited time to get your drone back in the air if you got downed, the loser is the drone that literally cannot fly anymore.

They are currently working on a system that lets you fly the drone using things like eye movement and head-tracking and also envision drone dogfights by adding laser tag and paintball markers.

 

 

Drone Racing League (DRL) is a good example. DRL organizes drone races across the globe and films them using a mix of camera drones, stationary cameras and first-person-view (FPV) video that has been viewed  YouTube, Twitch and Facebook over 43 million times.

 

DR1 Racing, whose races air on TV channels like Eurosport and Discovery Channel, and MultiGP, which is likely the biggest drone racing organizer based on number of registered pilots (16,195) and chapters (1,041) around the world.

 

Freedom Class is an Australian group that uses a 1.2 meter Freedom Class V1.0, capable of speeds up to 160 kilometers an hour.

The size eases the challenge of following the action and finding out who is actually in the lead can be difficult when the competing craft are roughly the size of a shoebox