AV News: Tiny Whoops take over Target Field

Tiny Whoop races are gaining in popularity all over the world, with some pretty unique locations playing host to the races. For the first time ever, a stadium Minneapolis, Minnesota, hosted not just a baseball game but a Tiny Whoop race as well. Target Field in downtown Minneapolis is the home of Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins. Last week, it also was the home of a Tiny Whoop race put on by Minneapolis-based Hydra FPV. Four of the top drone pilots in the Twin Cities competed for the title in the unique venue as baseball fans looked on. Among the competitors was Phluxy, the newest Drone Racing League pilot. “I think it’s the first time any major sports game has been tied to a drone racing event, so to be able to be here and doing this, it’s a lot of fun.” - Chris Spangler (Phluxy) The course was set up in Bat and Barrel, a bar and restaurant section of Target Field located in the right field corner of the stadium. The track that the four competitors raced on included a feature from the stadium that proved to be extra challenging. “The chandelier, that was really cool but such a hard gate to hit. You couldn’t see it until you got up to it, and if it wasn’t pointed towards you, it was really awkward to get into. But it was a really cool feature of the course.” - Blake Gabriel (buhlahkay) One of the best things about the event, the pilots said, was being able to expose people to drone racing who might not have otherwise seen it in person. The race took place immediately after the Twins game, but fans stuck around the bar area to watch the drones. “For such a traditional, long-time fan-favorite sport like baseball to let us come in and bring this brand new sport, this sport of the future in to a giant ballpark like this and have the fans have a chance to go from one to the next and see an entirely new sport with mobile technology enabling them to interact with the whole thing, we were really thrilled to bring it here and I think people had a great time.” - Marty Wetherall (Hydra FPV) Blake Gabriel took home the win at the race at Target Field, edging out a pilot he’s long aspired to beat. “I can’t even express it. I’ve been wanting to race and beat Phluxy ever since I started doing this.” - Blake Gabriel (buhlahkay) The pilots that took part in the race at Target Field think the event could be a stepping stone for more drone races to take place at similar venues as the sport continues to grow. "As a pilot it's really cool to be at the forefront of such a new technology." - Sam Westlake (nautilusfpv) “It feels like it’s common to be breaking new ground with drone racing in Minnesota.” - Adeeb Missaghi (lofli)