major input into the design of drone
components that set the standards
such as propellers, flight control,
firmware and frames, motors, cameras
and radio controllers. Clients include
the military and surf lifesaving bodies.
Nowak has also worked closely
with CASA on safety and security
issues around quad flying in controlled
airspace. He moved to Atlanta,
Georgia for a period after his win in
2015 to deepen his involvement in the
sport. In December he launched a new
quad frame.
Queenslander Tighe Brown’s
interest in mini-quad racing led
him to launch the Australian FPV
Association in 2015, following up with
national championship events in 2016
and 2017.
He, like Nowak, has also branched
into mentoring, teaching and public
speaking about the sport and drones,
though after two-and-a-half years
of being consumed by the sport he
recently took a step back to pursue a
regular income job to “pay the bills”.
That hasn’t made him any less
passionate though about racing and
drones generally.
He points to drones disrupting
industries in much the same way as
Uber did to the taxi industry and
Airbnb to holiday accommodation.
“You see them being used in
agriculture, disaster relief, search and
rescue, shark and thermal spotting
and even delivering hearts for
transplant in quick time – all for the
good of human development.”
Now they are a growth sport even
though Brown believes it has reached
quad racer couldn’t be bought off the
shelf. Parts were imported from China
and programmers and engineers
pulled them together.
Enthusiasts can now buy ready-
made quads, but Brown said
modifications are part and parcel of
the craft though battery and the power
to weight ratio set limitations.
He has a background in middle
management and retail, describes
himself as “mechanically minded” but
admits he didn’t know the first thing
about quad flying when he started
buying parts online.
The more he looked into the sport
the harder he found it to get involved
building, programming and fly the
machines.
“Racing outside was pretty much
forbidden for quite some time because
of a ruling from the early days
requiring visual line of sight to fly your
craft,” he said.
Practising was restricted to
enclosed areas such as abandoned
buildings and warehouses.
Brown met Nowak before he won
the US championships, but it was after
that win he realised there was a future
for the sport and industry.
“From that point we were able to
develop clubs through mates joining
forces to work within the guidelines
of law.
Melbourne’s Multi-Rotor Club was
the first in Australia. There are now
around 12 clubs with half of them
members of the FPV Association,
paying membership ranging from
$150 to $300 a year. A few hundred
more enthusiasts are backyard
drone flyers. It has been estimated
around 500 racers are socially active
in Australia and 100,000 globally,
though that number is likely to have
grown substantially, said Brown.
Racers fly under quirky monikers
with ‘rebel’ being a popular choice in
club names.
Brown worked with Nowak
commercialising the goggles and
meeting regulators to address issues
such as security, safety and people’s
privacy and security, paving the way
for the clubs and competition.
“We fly around trees and race each
other. We were not interested in what
other humans are doing,” Brown said.
“We went to the Model
Aeronautical Association of Australia
for support and we built a relationship
with Recreational Aviation Australia
(RAAus).
“It was all about public liability and
mitigating risk.”
Regulatory hurdles were resolveda bit of a plateau in Australia.
“It will take someone with money
and interest to develop bigger events
and make it different, ” said Brown.
The flip side, however, is the people
with money wanting to control the big
events for commercial gain and that’s
anathema to enthusiasts just wanting
to have fun racing.
Brown said initial talks with
business entrepreneurs and
philanthropists interested in aviation
had been promising, but moves in this
direction were still in their infancy.
The biggest Australian sponsor is
Hobby King.
Brown got hooked on racing after
watching a Frenchman in an online
video “doing this fun recreational
sport a bit like Star Wars pod racing.
“At 37 for me it is the freedom of
flight and escape from reality. It is in
the DNA of every child to fly like a
bird.”
Brown was amazed when he first
started looking at the sport to find aDrone racing
‘It is the
freedom of
flight and
escape from
reality.’
TIGHE BROWNPilots wear special goggles that
relay a drone’s-eye view of the
race circuit.MICHAEL GREAVESMore 2017 Australian Drone
Nationals action.DARREN MOORE