First drone racing national championship takes flight
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – Purdue University is known for being a university of many firsts, and Saturday afternoon is no different.
The first-ever Collegiate Drone Racing National Championship took place on Purdue’s Gold and Black Intramural fields Saturday.
A total of 48 pilots from 26 different universities from across the country traveled to West Lafayette to compete for the number one spot.
Purdue ranked in the top three for overall team ranking coming out of the qualifying rounds Saturday afternoon.
One of the drone pilots from Purdue advanced to the “Sweet 16” for individual pilots.
“I’m definitely not the fastest pilot, but I always try to get my three laps in,” said pilot Matt McDowell. “Some people are trying to go a lot faster and crashing out and I just keep flying.”
“It’s been a really fun experience getting together with other collegiate pilots from around the country,” said Purdue Drone Club President and drone pilot Tyler Landers. “We have guys that flew in from California, Texas and Florida. It’s a really fun group of guys, and I think it’ll continue to grow and become a lot more competitive in the future.”
The Purdue Drone Racing Club would like to thank the University for providing the funding to make the Drone Racing National Championship take flight.
They hope to host more events like this in the future.