gums

Here's some paddock over view from Summit Point PCA, no cars on track:

MUSSBERGER

Maybe they could chase away some other hazards with these things.


Overall I would have to give the PCA excellent marks on the way they handle their events. If they come up with a way to do it safely I think it would be pretty darn cool.

Turbodan

At Mosport, one of the owners "Fidani" was landing his helicopter at the track and saw a drone and immediately banned them. I like them but as others have said there is enough going on at the track that we don't need another thing to go wrong and I don't trust amateurs to never make a mistake. So my vote is to ban them.

ilko

I just watched Frank's videos above and no offense, but I don't see any point in operating a drone at a race track. And that's aside from the inherent dangers they may pose.

No wonder pro series use choppers. A drone with a camera on-board is just a toy.

2BWise

My 2c.

If they are controlled properly (rules) I don't see any reason why drones shouldn't be allowed. I think they should follow similar guidelines as track photographers have to. If you want to bring one in to shoot you have to follow the same guidelines; vest, spotter, access up to the fence and no further. This ensures that the track is aware of any drones operating on property and can control who is operating one. It'd be very similar to the process that is already in place for on track photography so nothing new for the tracks to implement.

I would really love to see drones used during racing to follow the on track action. The GPS units will follow a pre defined path at speeds determined by the operator. How cool would a follow cam drone be above the on track action!

DTMiller

I was prepared to be wowed but I wasn't.

Circuit Motorsports

A well done drone is AMAZING. The guys that are good are doing this stuff full time and building custom rigs that are WAY more powerful than the DJI.

I have no doubt one of those guys could do some impressive stuff at certain places on track like Oak Tree at VIR, 6 and 7 at Road Atlanta, etc. Places where you are making a 180 and are pretty slow.

gums

Oh it's a toy, no question about that.
And I've gotten a lot better at flying it, but the funny thing is, the guys who seem to like it the most are the instructors!

TwentySix

Just keep it away from the boss's car



and then there's this

Matt Lane

Yeah, I don't care how good the video is, this is just asking for trouble.

Track driving has its acknowledged and inherent risks. ANYTHING that may add to that risk (and not directly in the purview of said drivers and their cars) is out of the question in my opinion.

Best,

Matt

Veloce Raptor

+1

LuigiVampa

Mostly some really good debate here. I keep an open mind and listen to people's concerns so that hopefully we can overcome them.

There is one thing that I think everyone should keep in mind - with some notable exceptions, when driving at PCA events we are mostly amateurs doing something that most people would consider risky. Whether it is a DE or club race there is risk. I don't want to increase that risk at all. But if we don't want to trust an "amateur" drone pilot why would we trust another amateur driver? Perhaps the solution is that all drone pilots have to be PCA members. That would hopefully weed out the people who might not take this so seriously.

Additionally, a drone does not necessarily have to be zig zagging around the track to be useful. If you can park it 20 feet up in the air right on the edge of the runoff (beyond any Armco barriers) you get a really nice shot. It is aerial photography.

For those thinking it will be a distraction - I don't agree. I used it at five different track days and not one car on track saw the drone.

What is the benefit? We are a car club and have a photography section. This is a natural extension of it. It is still about fun - isn't it. Because the last time I checked I paid a $hit load of money to go racing at Sebring and there was zero chance of someone paying me.

I uploaded the drone policy and authorization form so that people could see what is proposed.

Drone policy:

http://1drv.ms/1BOiFhJ

Drone authorization form:

http://1drv.ms/19Hzq7A

I had already borrowed some ideas from the AMA guidelines, as someone had suggested, and made up some other stuff using common sense and some suggestions from PCA national. I even found a drone policy from the burning man event. These hippies came up with some good stuff.

Bottom line - I hope some of you who think "drone" is a pejorative term and who just replied "nope" can look at the guidelines and see if you can get your head wrapped around it. Not everyone will be a fan but I think you can't ignore progress and technology. You just need a good set of rules.

Circuit Motorsports

If that's all you're looking for I would get a long stick and a GoPro.

cashmancab

My experience level - At one point, a very good R/C plane pilot (could do every trick in the book). Decent Helicopter pilot (can hover and fly inverted, flips and rolls). Currently have a mini quad copter in the stable for tormenting the cat.

There was a drone flying over the Petite Lemans last year at Road Atlanta going down the back straight and I couldn't believe it. I was floored! I realize all the safety built into these modern flying machines with GPS and auto level etc but all it takes is one battery wire to fry or a gyro to go bad and the quad will come down in an unexpected place and manner (regardless if your not over the track at the time). Ok, the drone itself may not cause majority of the damage but I know if it unexpectedly hits my GT3 (I wish) going 130 MPH I will flinch and cause a 5 car accident in one big WTF just happened moment. Who is going to be responsible? The only reason this isn't an issue is because this scenario hasn't happened... Yet. It will and it's only a matter time if they allow this in my opinion.

What's the pilots flying capability? Who qualified him? Who licensed him? Does he really know how to fly anything or only a quadcopter in GPS stable mode?

Many drone pilots (who never flew any other RC (especially Helicopter)) have no clue how to really fly. These drones are so stable it's unreal. If one gets out of control, you have almost no chance of recovery. If you can fly a helicopter like this guy - you may have a chance:

Ok folks - Just for fun I inserted a youtube video of an amazing helicopter pilot. I am guessing most people on this site haven't seen anything like this before.
THIS IS A MUST WATCH FOR THOSE THAT HAVE NO CLUE OF 3D HELICOPTER FYLING OR WHAT THESE MACHINES CAN DO . Try to follow the helicopter and if you can tell me 100% of the time the orientation of the copter you may have a slight chance of recovering an out of control drone: if you lost orientation for more than a split second, you crashed.



The technology in these things is truly amazing. It's like comparing the first calculator that filled a school room to and IPhone 6. These drones would have cost tens of thousands of dollars 20 years ago and now they sell at the mall for $30. (Obviously not the big ones used for video). Almost anyone can get one and fly one. I don't wont that at any track I'm on.

Hope you watched and liked the video - NO AFFILIATION

Veloce Raptor

Guidelines are just pieces of paper. Just like laws. Yet both are routinely broken. I don't want one broken in three dimensions.