Slow SPEC Drone Racing! The Answer To Better Racing? 

very nice video and unexpected conclusion. Good job!

We run an indoor spec class for the winter here. We use Fullspeed Leader 3 inch quads on 3S batteries only, with the exception of allowing Emax RS1106 motors of the same KV(4500) instead of the stock motors for more durability. It makes for some really tight racing and you have to find the balance between going flat out and efficiency or you'll end up dealing with sag from the 3S packs in the later laps. It's a real easy entry point for new guys joining the club too. They have an inexpensive and relatively durable BNF quad that they can buy and just jump straight into the racing.

In short, spec racing favours efficient flying over raw/power flying. Which do you think is easier to improve? Efficiency of line or Comfort with speed. The really top pilots are BOTH efficient and can use the power effectively and will do well in either spec or open racing. The mid-tier pilots that do well in spec are usually not using power effectively, or not comfortable at high speed. The mid-tier pilots that do poorly in spec are usually comfortable at high speed, but inefficient at power management.

100% agree with the analysis at the end. great job Jay!

I think I can back up the assessment that the sustained stick-input moves where confidence in knowing that you'll end up spatially where you want to be is what separates really fast pilots from the merely quick pilots. If the ultimate goal is to have more races where pilots are within a couple gates and can see each other, I think there's a lot to be said about having a bit less power available, and that middle ground feels like a pretty solid choice. I still think matching hardware is probably requisite for good spec racing, at which point making that an inherent part of the spec seems preferable (props, motors, AUW). I do think there would be a place for open-spec racing with weight minimums (mandatory HD camera and LED hardware) to achieve some of those goals.

nice vid man! I think Cappy needs to tweak his rates slightly to improve his line on the corkscrew. he's a really fast pilot for sure!

Really, really interesting, dude! 😃 I'm really curious to see a race with the idea of running the Emax 6s quad on 3s. It should be fun!!! 😂

Thanks for doing these tests!

Great video, subject and production. I always enjoy someone actually having a theory, coming up with a way to test, execute the test and then distribute the information in a digestable way. This is way more work and effort than many people realize, great job. I have been thinking about this for a while, and many of my thoughts have been contrary to what many thought, and you actually demonstrated a lot of this in this test. I think there are several intangible things that we dont often think about in these equations and it is very interesting to see some of these teased out. The main 2 things I have thought about are 1 - Cleaner lines, will actually cause more of an advantage at very low throttle points, and you touched on this directly. 2 - Inconsistency will cause inconclusive data sets. You did a great job getting a good volume of data, but i think the data still may be skewed because one of the biggest differences between a top tier pilot, 2nd tier, and possibly 3rd tier (sportsman class), is that the lesser the skill the less consistent they will be. This may make certain throttle ranges appear to be better or worse than others. 3 - A huge difference in tier 1 and lower skill tiers, is ability to learn a track quickly. I have noticed this many times, that tier 1 can easily learn a track and are putting in their fastest laps by the actual counted rounds. Lower tiers, may take 10, 15, 20 packs before they actually reach their fastest times. I believe you noted that day 2 looked very unexpected. I think part of this is that, learning the track over many many packs has a greater positive effect than adjusting the throttle ranges. 4 - Mental fatigue. I notice for myself, my times have sort of a bell curve. I have times that get faster and faster, and eventually become slower as my mental fatigue makes it impossible to get any more fast laps. I noticed that the results, also have a similar sort of bell like curve to them. I wonder if these factors may also be contributing to the outcomes. Either way, very good experiment, and analysis. Seeing the tiny adjustments that a top pilot can make, next to a very fast pilot is extremely helpful to us all. I have a pair of pilots in my city that are very close substitutes, but watching them only allows so many conclusions to be drawn, and this video helps articulate all these concepts much more clearly. Keep these coming.

Interesting analysis and results

You are killing it with interesting videos right now! Kudos to you for spending a bunch of time helping another pilot understand how to improve.

Neat perspective and nice to hear your commentary on the line and speed.

I love the wealth of good advice in your videos. Thanks for putting so much time and care in providing the data! And the best tip of all: Clean your lens. I am SO guilty of this sometimes.

Thank you again John, really enjoying your uploads. ☺ I think you have made it very clear, what actually differentiates faster pilots, is still really tight lines.

... in sailing under ligth wind the experts will win by a larger margin. They have better time to capitalise on their skills, whilst an amateur no matter the time doesn't know what to do different/optimise. The longer legs - the worse it gets ... :-)

Really cool video 👌. Awesome that you are helping fellow racer.

I’m an auto racer.....we’ve always run spec:-)

Instead of making the quads slower I’m thinking we should make the courses larger and less elements for spectators that are new

That video was a 'crappy one' ...just kidding, sort of. Love the scientific approach to the question!

Slow spec would be great with something like the old Emax 2205 2300 Would truly be a pilot race rather than an equipment race. Or even run a 6s 1750 motor on 4s. 👍

Hmmmmm

Can I compete with a Emax hawk sport 4S? Or do I have to go to 6S (Is the difference big)? Or should I go for the sport model? Thanks for your reply!

I think leaving your runcam OSD turned on is an automatic 1s/lap slower.

Sub yaaa

Second

First!

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