MultiGP 2019 Sports Champs Recap – Part I

After a summer spent working on the MultiGP Regional Qualifer track, the local members of Safety Third Racing were happy with our improvements, but well outside the 300-pilot cutoff that would be invited to the 2019 RDQ MultiGP Sport Class Championship. Globally, I placed 498th.

As far as I know, I was the fourth fastest of only nine women to run the qualifying track.

We thought that would be the end of the road for us. In fact, at one local race it was stated that no one over the 300-cutoff limit would be invited to compete at Daytona Beach, Florida.

But we got the word that Joe Scully was inviting pilots farther down the list.

We were happy when our Safety Third teammate Reap3r got the invite. Then Smitty got his invite. He and I talked about it, and with the expense of airfare, hotel, and meals, we weren’t planning to go. Then our friend JimmyProton got his invite and offered to fly us to Florida. I like to joke that, “When a pilot asks to fly you somewhere, you say YES!”

Jimmy said I would get an invite any moment, but my mailbox was empty. Facebook inbox was empty. I was refreshing every 15 minutes. I made a comment on Facebook about constantly refreshing, and Scully replied that he had already sent it! Spam filters blocked it. We were in. It was game on.

Taking a small plane is beyond awesome. There is just no other way to describe it. It is the ultimate luxury. We are so incredibly lucky, and there is not a second that goes by that I forget that. Jimmy: You’re awesome. So are you, Kim. You both made this trip possible. We love you. Seriously. We. Love. You.

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As we were landing in Daytona, we could see both the Daytona Municipal Stadium, where we would be racing, and Daytona International Speedway. It still felt surreal: Here we were about to compete in a major MultiGP event. I was really excited to be racing again! I didn’t expect to win, so I wasn’t too nervous. But I was also excited to see whether the hard work I had been putting in the previous months would pay off.

The other bonus was that two other female pilots would be competing: JuneBug and MakoReactra. I couldn’t wait to see both of them again! (Another female pilot named PrettyFlyFPV qualified for the sports division, but could not travel to the United States. And RotorGrrl would be competing in the pro class). I almost never race against another woman except at the MultiGP International Open. (I hope this will change sometime in the future!)

When we landed, we headed over to tech inspection. Everything was organized and we were able to complete tech inspection quickly. We got to see Joe Scully and Chris Thomas. I spoke to them about my side project – a parody of “The Night Before Christmas” – and both of them were willing to record their verses right away. It was an exciting kickoff for that project as well.

We headed to resort, unpacked and planned our groceries for the week. All four of us were staying together, along with MakoReactra! It was great to have her with us for the event. Then it was time to head to dinner and relax before our first day of practice packs. I spent some time practicing the track on the sim before heading to bed.

Practice day had arrived! I was much more relaxed knowing the track from the sim before flying. But that first pack is always so tough! I was all over the place and my times in the 39-45 second range. I kept my thoughts positive. “It’s your first pack. You’re feeling nervous. It’s OK. You can do this. Just relax.” As I was waiting, I saw that other pilots, too, had some trouble controlling their first or second battery. “See? You’re not the only one. Everyone just has to settle in. Your next pack will be better.”

Soon I began to settle in and started putting down some good lap times. First sub-30. Then sub-29. 28. 27. Finally I had a few 26-second laps. That seemed like a fairly competitive time. I was feeling really good and very happy with how I was flying.

Because our lap time wouldn’t start until we crossed the start/finish gate, my strategy at first was to wait for the other pilots. But as my laps became smoother and smoother, I was finding too much traffic from waiting. I decided to start gunning it from the start to try to get ahead of the other pilots, and that seemed to work pretty well for the rest of the practice.

We got 12 practice packs – six on each course! People who said we were not going to get very many packs were sorely mistaken, and I felt so glad that Jimmy persuaded us to go. Everything ran incredibly smoothly, except some rough patches of wind and a bit of rain. You can’t say enough good things about the volunteers. From people who scanned you in to guest announcers, it made the event feel very special. I felt like we were being given the red carpet treatment – even though we were the sports class pilots!

The BEST part of practice? There was a STEM Fest taking place the same day with students! They were on-site to learn more about STEM fields, and they would come into the stadium to watch us fly. I felt like a bit of a celebrity walking around and flying with an audience.

There was one moment that scared me, though! I missed the first ladder gate and my quad headed into a fast yaw spin. I felt like Kathryn, the pilot in the movie “Space Camp,” when the space shuttle goes into a spin and she needs to re-gain control. The yaw spin was too fast to stop; I disarmed the quad, and the stadium was safely in sight.

The crew told me my quad just went straight up and came straight down. Apparently, the kids loved it way more than the racing.

They announced that we could do some of our qualifying packs that night. The four of us from Safety Third began discussing what we would do. Should we fly them all now? Some of them? Wait? We had already been flying most of the day. I wondered if we should fly 1 or 2 qualifying packs that night, but everyone – including myself – felt tired. We decided to go to dinner, and then once we had left, we decided to call it a night.

Qualifying day! We should have 6 qualifying packs on Track 1 inside the stadium, and 4 qualifying packs on Track 2. We were scheduled to start on Track 2 and then move to the stadium. I kept my same strategy from practice to launch from the go and try to get ahead of other pilots.

This seemed to backfire on me in qualifying, when there were always eight pilots flying – more than some practice heats. I had mid-air after mid-air crash. I next tried waiting for other pilots to go and then begin flying, but I would catch up to traffic and have mid-airs anyhow.

I managed to pull some good qualifying times of 28- and 29-second laps. I felt disappointed because I knew I could get 26-second laps. Drone racing first and foremost is a competition against yourself. I made the Top 40 pilots, but walked away knowing I could go faster.

Still, I made the Top 40. It felt like just yesterday I was coming in dead last on every race, and now I was finding myself competitive at a major event. It was exciting!

There was some damage. A few batteries were unsafe to charge. Tons of broken props. We were grateful for RaceDayQuads as we placed an order for delivery the next day to make sure we were ready to race.

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At this point, we had flown 22 packs – and we would still get to fly more on Saturday. Only now we would be in the stadium for the entire day!

Race day. It was race day! It still didn’t quite feel real walking into the stadium. I didn’t know how many more packs I might get to fly, but I felt grateful for each and every one of them.

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The stadium was an incredible venue. MultiGP made such a great choice in this event!

I felt like a Big Leaguer every time I walked back into the stadium. The Astroturf made it very easy to turtle mode in case your quad landed upside-down so that you could recover and take off again. It was easy to spot your drone if you crashed. The tents of the vendors, the livestreaming, Scully the announcer – it was epic.

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It was a gift to be here. It was a gift that MultiGP put on such an amazing event. It was a gift that JimmyProton flew us here. It was a gift that drone racing gave us our best friends who we get to hang out with all the time. It’s a gift that drones even work to begin with. And it was a gift that Smitty got me into drone racing.

Now it was time to see what I was made of.

I wouldn’t go until the 7th heat. And I was flying on Raceband 7 – my favorite channel. It felt like it would be a good day.

When my heat was up, I didn’t really know what to expect. Would I fly like practice day, or would I fly like qualifying day? Would I be able to keep my nerves calm? Could I keep the turns tight? Would I get mid-aired?

We lined up our quads. I couldn’t believe my luck – I got the platform signed by DRL TV Pilot Nurk! This had to be a sign. I followed my pre-race routine: Plug in the battery; test the arm switch; test launch control; test video; goggle fan on; DVR recording on; acro mode switch enabled; throttle stick all the way down.

Scully tells us to arm our quads – and we’re off! Around the flag, through the start gate, and WHAM! I hit the open ladder. OMG! I hit the second gate! I try to calm my voice. It’s OK. Fly your own race. You can keep the corkscrew tight.

Joe Scully – almost as if he knows what is going through my mind – announces, “Roo running third, but with the leaders within reach.” It’s not over, I tell myself. Fly clean. Tight, clean lines. Scully announces that I’m in third place. “Now just flying smooth, at your own pace, to win this race.” Thank you, Scully. Deep breath. You can do this.

Then suddenly DreadPool and Av8tr hit each other’s drones! When you’re racing in FPV, you can’t see behind your own drone. Mid-air crashes just happen, and DreadPool unfortunately is unable to recover.

It’s just Av8tr and me now! Joe Scully’s voice gets louder and more excited. The adrenaline that was already coursing through my body now shouts even louder. My hands are shaking. My heart is pounding out of my chest. I tell myself, You don’t need to win. Just finish the race clean. This is practice for future heats. But Av8tr hits a gate. I pass him.

I can’t believe it! I won my first heat??!?!? I’m so excited that I do a little victory fly around the end zone. After I land, the head of the flight line Paul tells me great job. He can see how happy I am – and he knows this is one of biggest races I’ve ever done. He gently tells me not to take victory laps. The way he says it is incredibly nice, and I am grateful for how patient he is with us “newbies.” These are the kinds of volunteers at drone events – they are world-class themselves.

My heart breaks for Junebug as I watch her lose her first two heats. She was just 2/10 of a second out of the top 8 – who automatically race under the lights. Her heats were incredibly fast. She flew far better than I did, and her day was over. She is a true champion. She had a great attitude to everyone around her, and simply said, “that’s drone racing.” She and NytFury stayed until the very end of the race. I really admire and respected that, and hope she does well at the FAI Championships later this year.

MakoReactra also did well! She flew consistently, and made it into the consolation bracket competition on Track 2. Although she eventually lost out of the brackets, too, she placed in the Top 70. Given the fact that she qualified 595th, that is a terrific climb up the rankings. She works very hard, and I bet we will see great things from her in 2020. Go Mako!

Throughout the day, I keep taking first or second. Eventually I fall into the consolation bracket. I feel like the rest of Safety Third knows more about the brackets than I do, but all I ask is which channel I need to be on, and which bracket I’m in next. I don’t focus on how many brackets are left, or who will get to race under the lights. I just focus on the task that is ahead of me.

JimmyProton and Smitty flew great, but eventually they lost their consolation bracket. They placed 19th and 20th respectively, after qualifying 489th and 366th. (We crunched some numbers, and we think Safety Third may have had the overall club best finish?)

But the secret is out. Scully announces the heat we are heading into will dictate who will make the top 8-16 and race under the lights against the top 8. Take first or second this heat, and you’re in. Take third or fourth, and you’ll be a spectator for the rest of the event.

My strategy is still to shoot out in front. I have a clean launch – and I’m the first through the dive gate. But DreadPool and I mid-air at the corkscrews. I see the quad hit me, and in my head I say, Oh no you don’t!!!! I jam on my sticks, and somehow recover from the mid-air. I head back through the corkscrews, but DreadPool was down. You hate to see a pilot go down from a mid-air, but especially one you’re in.

I concentrate on just flying smoothly. I’m not exactly sure what the order is in at this point. I can hear Joe talking, but it’s become very confusing. I hit another gate and know that I’m in third now. I have to hurry. Fly smooth! Keep it tight! Scully announces, “And now Roo sliding up to the Number 2 slot ahead of Av8tr.” What?!?!? I’m in second! I recite the course in my head: Ladder TIGHT! corkscrew to the right and around. Shoot for the corkscrew! Keep it tight – around, around, around and GO! GO! GO! full throttle around the backfield. Through the bottom, around, through the top, around, ladder, tight, CAREFUL! Tricky gate to the left. No mistakes now, two gates left, DONE!

I believe I’ve taken second, but Smitty and Jimmy tell me I won. I won?!?

I AM HEADING TO RACE UNDER THE LIGHTS!