Drone Club prepares for new racing season, to host first race day
(Posted Sept. 26, 2019)
The Drone Club at APSU is ready to follow up its inaugural racing season in which the team鈥檚 top flyer qualified for the Collegiate Drone Racing Association national championships.
The club will host its first practice race at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, at Edith Pettus Park, 345 Farris Drive near the Clarksville campus. Anyone interested in drones and drone racing can come watch, including Austin Peay State University students interested in joining the club.
Attendees will have a chance to fly some of the slower drones and watch a race through racing goggles, getting the drone鈥檚-eye view as it through the course.
鈥淭he big thing right now is trying to grow the University racing club but then also having invitationals out in the community and with other colleges,鈥 said Michael Hunter, Drone Club president. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to get people interested.鈥
Hunter represented Austin Peay in April when he qualified for the drone racing nationals at the University of North Dakota. He finished 22nd overall at the competition.
The club鈥檚 racing season will start soon, as soon as the Collegiate Drone Racing Association releases its racetrack specifications.
Michael Hunter builds racing drone for nationals
ABOUT THE CLUB
The Drone Club has monthly races and meetings and co-hosts events with other clubs (such as an event Sept. 20 with the GeoClub and design club AIGA). If you want to be a racer, dues are $25 each semester (to help cover the cost of drone crashes); if you just want to learn how to build and fly drones, dues are $20 for a full year.
The biggest benefit of joining the club is you gain access to all the tools need to build drones.
鈥淚nstead of spending $1,000 to get the equipment you鈥檒l need for the tools just to build one, pay the dues and you have access to all the equipment,鈥 Hunter said. 鈥淚f you are interested in something like this, and you need help, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e here for is for you to come in, and we can teach you hands-on how to build your drone, how to fly them, how to race them.鈥
The Drone Club鈥檚 next meeting is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, in the Maynard Mathematics and Computer Science Building front lobby. The next open house and game night is 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, in Maynard Room 244.
TO LEARN MORE
- For more about the Drone Club at Austin Peay, go to .
- For highlights from the 2019 drone racing nationals, go to .
News Feed
View All NewsAustin Peay State University partners with NASCAR's Michael Waltrip on signature light beerAPSU unveiled the Governor's Golden Ale, a signature light beer developed in partnership with Michael Waltrip Brewing Co. and Shelby's Trio, during a community meet-and-greet at Joe's Garage.
Read MoreAustin Peay hosting 64th annual Mid-South Jazz Festival through April 5This year's event features performances by the APSU Jazz Collective, Cumberland Winds Jazz Project, and the Bobby Watson Group.
Read MoreForbes features APSU's pioneering teacher apprenticeship programForbes has recognized APSU's Eriksson College of Education for its groundbreaking teacher apprenticeship program--the nation's first approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. The innovative "earn while you learn" model has influenced similar programs across 45 states and U.S. territories.
Read More