The 2018 Challengers Cup comes to Denver, Colorado for AUVSI XPONENTIAL on April 30th to May 3rd, 2018. Pilots compete in this International Level race, Race 3 of the series, in order to earn points to ward the Top 32 Pilot Rankings for an invitation to the Las Vegas Finals on November 9-10, 2018.The International Drone Racing Association (IDRA) welcomes you to the race to experience the sport up-close, meet talented pilots from around the world, and learn about the technology we use to compete. Every ticket to AUVSI XPONENTIAL has access to the UVify Denver Internationals drone race, as the race track is on the showroom floor. Spectators have the opportunity to interact with a variety of exhibits and workshops to learn about drones, the sport, and how to get involved as a hobby.

See you in Denver for AUVSI XPONENTIAL!

Spectators

The full drone racing experience:

• Watch professional drone racing up-close
• Meet world class pilots
• Enjoy drone simulators and workshops
• Fly micro-drones through race courses

Pilots

The UVify Denver Internationals has a maximum of 100 spots for pilots to register. Pilot registration fees will be discounted to $50 (US) until March 1, 2018 for early registration. After March 1, registration will increase to $75 (US) per pilot. Race purse will be announced in the coming weeks.

​Earn points toward rankings for Top 32 Pilot Ranking.

Schedule

TENTATIVE

APR 30 – PRACTICE DAY (no spectators)

MAY 1 – QUALIFYING

MAY 2 – RACE DAY

MAY 3 – FUN FLY & COMMUNITY DAY

Spring is in the air. Take off and take 10%!

To celebrate the upcoming UVify Denver Internationals with the IDRA at AUVSI XPONENTIAL UVify is offering 10% off on all products at UVify.com store for a limited time*.

Now’s your chance to get that Draco or Draco HD that you’ve been dreaming about for a sweet 10% off.

This report was provided by Travis Ames, A Team UVify Pilot.

Two weeks ago, IDRA held their final race at Southpoint Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas. Thirty of the top pilots in the league travelled from around the world to compete for a purse prize of $50,000 and a chance to be crowned the top pilot of IDRA. The event was held in a conference room with low hanging gates, and netting protecting the spectators and pilots. This track proved to be technical in some spots, yet fast paced in others. To master the track, pilots had to be consistent and smooth, but also a little reckless.

The race was single elimination, which meant pilots were constantly crashing trying to stay ahead of each other and not get eliminated. The crowd was in awe with anticipation waiting for each crash. This type of race is hard on the nerves, especially when watching pilots give it everything they have, to ensure they won’t be eliminated. It was heart-wrenching at some points, but if you were able to get through 3 rounds of that then you would find yourself in the final race with some of the top pilots in the world.

I made it to the final race. “One slip up and you will be eliminated in the blink of an eye” and “don’t crash” were some of the things running through my mind as we put our goggles on and grabbed our radios for one last push to see who would be crowned the champ.

“3,2,1, GO!”

The final race began as four drones lifted off at full throttle trying to take and keep the lead. It was anyone’s race to win or lose and nobody knew where the cards would fall. But the race ended as quickly as it began. Andy Marachilian had finished three laps in under one minute, taking the win. Mac Poschwald took second and I finished third. The crowd was excited after the race as we were being crowned the top pilots of the year, but for us, it was just nice to know that the race was over, and we could finally relax and process everything that had just happened. I can’t wait until the next race.

Congrats and a huge thanks to everyone who participated and helped organize these events. If it wasn’t for all of these amazing people that do this for the love of the sport, there wouldn’t be drone racing.

Travis Ames

This year from the 18th to the 20th of August in Paris, Ontario, the 3rd Fat Shark Frenzy (FSF) took place, and UVify brought the Draco.

The FSF is an event with less focus toward competition, and more focus toward celebrating the hobbies that are built around FPV. The most popular of these hobbies is, of course, the rapidly growing sport of Drone Racing. Despite the event’s focus not being on competition, the epic race track of 20 gates of varied elevations was the center of attention. People of all ages and from beginners to professionals made the journey to the FSF to showcase their skills and machines.

UVify was there from the start to get a piece of the action. On Friday the 18th, during practice, the Draco was well received and caught the eye of many pilots while holding it’s position on the race queue table. While in the air, it performed admirably against the fleet of custom machines, all while generating a beautiful, yet formidable presence with it’s onslaught of vibrant LEDs.

On Saturday the 19th, Draco earned a position in the double elimination bracket by attaining a competitive qualifying time. “So this is the RTF that beat me!” one pilot exclaimed as he picked up the Draco after a race. On Sunday the 20th, UVify Team Pilot Trevor ‘Viking’ Christensen earned 1st place in the Freestyle competition through a series of teeth-grinding proximity and open air acrobatics.

Fat Shark Frenzy 2017 was an incredible event run by Joe Scully of FPV Racing Events. With all of the equipment required to run an FPV show efficiently and properly, it was a weekend to remember. From volunteering to set up the track on the first day, to packing up the final pieces of gear on the last day, UVify and the Draco made a great impression on the community throughout the entire weekend.

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria, a place well-known for fast cars and faster motorcycles, legendary racers and a popular energy drink. Many frequent the locale, approximately 25,000 in the case of one particular weekend. Why? Because of Red Bull DR.ONE, as well as E-Mobility Play Days, but we really know everyone came for the drone racing. That’s why UVify was there.

Racers from around the world were ready to show what they were made of at the biggest drone race to date. This was not your standard drone race either, Red Bull took it to the next level by introducing the elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire. The course layout had different sections, both fast and technical. There were even varying flight lines based on your placement throughout the racing, those that fared better had better (and faster) lines through parts of the course.

Team UVify was ready. With its new Warp 9 carbon racer, customized and protected against the elements, Pilot Andrew Meyer and Pit Crew Thom Tyler were fully prepped to meet the competition head on. With Red Bull putting on such a large event with 18 of the best racers from around the world, nothing less would suffice. Countless hours were spent in the field and on Velocidrone preparing, as well as customized avionics and power package for Warp 9 to give it the technical advantage.

Though there were some technical difficulties on day 1, Team UVify braved the fire and the flames and put in some hot laps to qualify them for the point stages. Throughout these stages, you accumulated points that would go towards your overall standings on Day 2 and 3, with the top 6 moving onto the finals.

Day 2 was a new challenge, as now where you finished in each race determined how many points you received. Most importantly, if you did not finish, you received 0 points, even if you crashed in 1st place. The races became a strategic game, unlike any other race event before, where you had to balance the points across the entire group to ensure your position. Team UVify and Warp 9 accumulated several points in Day 2, but due to ongoing technical difficulties, were unhappy with the overall performance going into Day 3.

Day 3 was packed with spectators eager to watch Warp 9 and the other drones race around the Red Bull DR.ONE track, they even had to turn people away as the venue was filled to capacity. Team UVify was eager to show the crowd what they were made of, and racked up even more points in front of the crowd. This also included some spectacular crashes and recoveries, the air cannon was a force to be reckoned with!

In the end, Team UVify received 10th place out of 18 pilots, a position to be proud of but also knowing that there’s room for improvement. The competition was fierce, and a big congratulations is in order for the podium finishers as well as Redbull and their organization for putting on such an amazing event. UVify looks forward to future Redbull endeavours and will always be ready for any challenge thrown their way.

Photo Credit: Red Bull

Team UVify are pleased to announce we will be attending Future Festival which is taking place September 27th-29th in Toronto, Canada.

Future Festival is an innovation conference where some of the world’s top brands come together to showcase cutting-edge projects and discuss innovations in their various sectors. UVify will be on-hand to showcase our current line of products and to answer any questions people may have.

Below is the official statement from the event organizers.

Our Toronto innovation conference is our marquee Future Festival event, designed to be the “World’s Best Innovation Conference”. Over 700 attendees come together to prototype their future. While most attendees come from all over the globe, Toronto, Canada is our HQ city with trend safaris, workshops and thought leaders. If you are free to choose, we highly recommend the Canadian conference versus any other city event because it is the complete 3 experience.” – Jeremy Gutsche, CEO & NY Times Bestselling Author

You can find out more information regarding the event and book your tickets at the official site here – www.futurefestival.com

Be sure to follow UVify on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and information regarding all of products and events.

Team UVify is excited to announce that Red Bull has invited us to take part in the DR.ONE event taking place between 29 – 30 September 2017 at the Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria

Team UVify is one of a select group of 18 International Teams invited to showcase not only pilot skill, but also the durability of the drone entered into the event. The course has been designed to test pilot ability to the absolute limit, demanding the ultimate test of their reflexes and the drone’s agility. The course has some unique challenges inspired by the elements – Earth, Fire, Water and Wind obstacles and gates designed to punish any mistakes and test the drones themselves in such harsh environments.

We’ll be providing in-depth coverage of the event which will feature not only on UVify social media channels, but Red Bull’s vast social channels as well. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the very latest news and information from Team UVify at the event. Additionally, keep an eye on the blog for an action report once the event has concluded.

Here’s the Official statement from Red Bull regarding the DR.ONE event

Red Bull DR.ONE sees 18 international drone racing teams from 11 countries put their skills and technology to the test. The 2017 edition of the event will take place at the Red Bull Ring, in Spielberg, Austria. Racing against the clock, the teams need to use precision and strategy to manoeuvre around obstacles – inspired by earth, wind, water and fire – along the track to take the win.

For more details on the DR.ONE event, please visit the official page

MultiGP, putting on events that turn heads. One track? How about eight (that’s 64 pilots at once). North America event only? How about international, with pilots arriving from around the globe to compete in the largest drone race to date. It’s possible that the MultiGP International Open was the event of the year.

Many top pilots from around the world got to lay their eyes and hands on Draco during the 5 days of racing. Draco was tested, raced, and bashed on many tracks, including the World Cup track, screaming around and turning heads. Some wanted to take Draco home with them, but unfortunately prototypes aren’t for sharing!

The talent in drone racing really showed itself at this event, displaying the rapid growth of the industry. Many countries, including Australia, South Korea, France, and many others, brought the best of the best to the USA. Surprisingly, many of the competitive pilots hadn’t even been flying for that long, just showing that anyone can get into drone racing, and with a *little* bit of practicing, can be hitting with the big boys. And what better platform to do that with than the UVify Draco?

It was amazing to see everybody come together for such a great, and a big congratulations to the winners of the various tracks (all eight of them!) Thanks are in order to Chris Thomas and the entire MultiGP team for putting on such a great event. UVify was very excited to attend and meet many of you, and we’ll be seeing you again at many events in the future!

Team UVify will be attending the 2017 MultiGP international Open which takes place between 9-13th August and is being held at the AMA National Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana. We welcome you to come and say hello and talk to the team, see the UVify Draco in-person and ask any questions you may have regarding our products. Keep an eye on our Official facebook page for up-to-date content regarding the event as well as our blog for a report of how the event went a few days after it has taken place.

For more information regarding the MultiGP International Open, check out http://www.multigp.com/news/25/MultiGP-International-Open-2017

Team UVify hope to see you there!

UVify attended FliteFest East (FFE) in Malvern, Ohio from July 13th-16th, and what an event it was!

Flitetest put on one of the premier model RC events, with thousands of avid pilots, builders, and racers flock together over a common interest: the joy of robotics. The community is quite diverse, from home-built tractors to cardboard planes to customized racing drones. An open flight line allows for everybody to show off their creations and fly various planes and multi-rotors, including an FPV racing course.

UVify was very excited to show off the production model of Draco at this event, and the positive feedback was overwhelming. Both from handling Draco at the booth and learning the basics on VelociDrone, to watching and riding along as the Draco roared around the race track, Draco impressed everyone.

Draco was swinging blow for blow with fully customized racing drones, qualifying into the top 16 of racers (out of a total of approximately 100 over the 4 days). Not only that, but many tried their hands at flying Draco themselves, including the infamous Joe Scully, renowned race director for FPV Events.

We would like to thank everyone for attending FliteFest and coming to check out the Draco at the UVify booth. If you missed us, we’ll be at many more events in the near future, so keep your eyes and ears open!

The UVify team will be attending FliteFest East with final, retail Draco’s in-hand to show off to Flitefest East attendees. Come and see us and Draco in-person. We’ll be on hand to answer any questions you may have and show you some of the unique features of Draco.

Team UVify hope to see you there!