Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) has added the aerial equivalent of drag racing to its popular World Drone Racing Championships and the new record holder got his specialized quadcopter to 114.2382 kmh (70.98 mph) in a 100-meter (328-foot) straight-line course. The drones rise vertically from boxes below the lighted course and then accelerate to the finish line. “When you get a good start you can just go full throttle all the way to the end,” said first-place finisher and new record holder Timothy Trowbridge, of Switzerland, after beating 61 other contenders at the event held in Shenzhen, China.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Rudi Browning,15, is the new world champion after besting 127 challengers on a course of turns and loops that pilots navigate using point-of-view goggles receiving streaming video from onboard cameras. He won $24,000. The junior champion is 11-year-old Wanraya Wannapong, of Thailand.
An earlier version of this story had an incorrect metric conversion figure.
