Drones executed turns and zipped through gates and around trees.
About six drone enthusiasts had gathered at the park to experience the adrenaline rush of speeding through the air around obstacles, all from the seated safety of a picnic table bench.
"I wanted to go fast," said pilot Francis Garthwaite. Drones in the races regularly zoom around at upwards of 60 miles per hour. That rush is one of several reasons he heads out to fly three or four times a week.
Drone racing is starting to take off. Just last week, pilots from around the world gathered in Hawaii at the 2016 World Drone Racing Championships. The competition offered about $100,000 in cash and prizes.
In separate development, Drone Racing League, started in 2015 by a former Tough Mudder executive, last month snagged a deal with ESPN and ESPN2 to broadcast this season's races. DRL's races are elaborate productions with all the lights, cameras and action expected from mainstream racing events.It hopes races will one day reach the level of something like NASCAR. DRL raised $8 million in fundingin January and another $1 million in September.
But in Louisville, a sunny afternoon in a park is well spent amid the buzz of racing drones. Frank Mattingly, this meetup's organizer and the founder of Derby City Drone Racing, said drone enthusiasts make friends easily. Common ground, or air, accounts for a lot.
