A league of his drone: islander takes drone racing world by storm

Friday 06 May 2022

A Channel Islander who has previously ranked in the top 3 in the UK and top 30 globally in drone racing says he has his “work cut out” for the 2022 season of the increasingly popular sport.

Shane Rouget said he was “hooked” on drone racing after he started first person view (FPV) drone racing five years ago.

Since then, the Guernseyman has quickly climbed the ranks, was headhunted by a Danish national team and raised the status of his team so successfully that that it became the first amateur team in the world to attain world-class sponsorship.

FPV drone racing sees competitors control drones equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays which live stream a feed from the drone, while trying to complete a course in the fastest time possible.

Pictured: Racing drones can go from zero to 100mph in "one second". 

“I signed up to beta-test a videogame based on the American televised drone racing leagues; I was using a PlayStation controller jerry-rigged to my PC and I was awful at it, but it gave me such a sense of freedom that I was hooked,” said Mr Rouget.

“Being able to race through the huge maps, with race gates flowing in all three dimensions, speeding through neon race gates and diving down skyscrapers was something else, especially knowing it was all based on real life locations.”

After a few years, Mr Rouget, better known in the drone racing community by his social media handle “Feisar_FPV”, came across the Drone Champions League (DCL), a European team-based league.

“DCL released a videogame which I was beta-testing, but the kicker was that, by flying in the game, you could earn a spot flying for one of their teams in real life,” said Mr Rouget.

“I invested in a proper radio controller and squeaked through into my first draft selection in 2020, earning a spot to compete at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London’s O2 Arena.”

Pictured: Shane Rouget said that islanders needed to "know the laws" surrounding flying racing drones. 

The covid pandemic saw the event cancelled and the league has been held virtually ever since.

“I spent lockdown making a number of connections within the league and its community. I was eventually headhunted by APEX Drone Racing (a Danish national team) to produce YouTube and Twitch content for them,

“I have also engaged directly with DCL both here and in Denmark to broaden the reach of the drone racing community and spread the work about this new and exciting sport.”

As Mr Rouget climbed the rankings a technical issue with his PC last year “forced a hiatus” in his competing.

“I used the half-year out to regroup and focus more on the management of our amateur team, ALPHA Prop, helping build it into one of the top non-professional teams in the league,” he said.

“We have grown to a point where we are the first recognised semi-pro team in the league, with sponsorships from the world’s leading drone propeller manufacturers Gemfan, and Australian RC hobby battery suppliers Ovonic. This is a world first for a team in the dronesports environment that isn't yet competing at a professional level within the league."

Pictured: Mr Rouget is best known in the drone racing world by his handle "Feisar FPV".

Mr Rouget continued: “Our pilots fly in all manner of real-life leagues outside of DCL too, but we all come together to push up the DCL leader boards each week, with several eight-pilot teams all fighting within the top ten globally, often beating out pro teams

“Taking six months out has dropped me to a position outside of the global top 100, so I've got my work cut out for this coming season.”

Mr Rouget said he was keen to partner with APEX to learn about the management of a professional, winning team.

“APEX remotely helped me source parts and build and test a genuine DLC FPV racing drone during lockdown. The drone was a a lot bigger and faster than the other real-life FPV drones I've flown and raced previously, and it's a real head-turner with it's bright lights and big white canopy,” he said.

“This year, APEX have their sights set on real-life leagues taking place in Europe and are taking a year away from the main DCL championship, so I'll be focusing on our team ALPHA, scouting for talent as we try to turn the team pro.

“When the DCL is able to stage real life races again in a post-COVID world, you can bet APEX will be back competing and, if ALPHA aren't competing professionally by then, you will probably find me in the APEX pitbox with a soldering iron in my hand.”

Pictured: Racing drones built by Shane Rouget. 

Mr Rouget has been working with APEX on its Community Webcast project.

“Alongside my co-host, I reached out to pilots from all over the world and interviewed them to showcase their achievements for a podcast,” he said.

“We also followed APEX pro pilots as they raced in the Danish indoor leagues and the Iberian Drone League in Spain. We've spoken with one of the top female freestyle pilots in the USA, and even given viewers the chance to have their flying analysed by the technical director of APEX ahead of DCL's annual pilot draft selection process, giving them pointers for improvements and advice on how to be picked up by the teams as a pro pilot."

Mr Rouget steams “DCL The Game” to followers weekly on Twitch, showcasing fan-made tracks and engaging with the drone racing community.

Mr Rouget said he would encourage islanders to try the sport which, he says, “perfectly bridges the gap between video games and the real world”.

“In a world where STEM (science technology engineering and mathematics) is a big part of the education process for our youngsters, building and flying racing drones is a fantastic gateway to learning the fundamentals of electronics and coding,” he said.

Pictured: Drone Champions League races have taken place all over the world. 

“I built my first racing drone a few years ago and there’s genuinely nothing like pulling down the video goggles and going from zero to 100mph in a second," said Mr Rouget.

“The videogames are a great distraction and provide an incredibly accurate simulation of real-life FPV drone flight controls, but the appeal of drone racing has always been the ability to race in real life, at super-fast speeds.

“You can race in places you’d never be able to race any other vehicle; DCL have raced at the Great Wall of China, the Arc de Triomphe, the parliament building in Lichtenstein, underground salt mines in Transylvania and the world’s longest snowboard half pipe in Switzerland. With the neon lights and air gates it’s a pretty spectacular sight; perhaps Castle Cornet could host a round in the future.”

Pictured: Shane Rouget's PC is back up and running after six months of being unable to compete. 

Mr Rouget said it was important for islanders to “know the law”.

“Although the drones we use for racing bear little resemblance to the normal photo-drones most people are used to, they are nonetheless subject to the same rules and regulations at the moment,” he said.

“Although they are generally flown much closer to the ground than traditional drones, they are going much faster so they pose more of a danger to people.

“Drone racing is a fantastic sport to get into, but you need to be smart and only ever fly in a legal and controlled environment.”

As the 2022 season kicks off, Mr Rouget will be returning to competing and mentor the pilots within the ALPHA Prop team, engaging with fans and looking to secure professional entry for upcoming seasons.