The Top 5 FPV Racing Drones: Ready-to-Fly Models for Drone Racing
Updated With New Drone Models and Accessories for 2021
Note: Fly safely and responsibly, folks. Never flown before? Learn to fly for free over here. Need to get your FAA commercial drone certificate? Start studying over here.
This guide gives pilots a crash course on drone racing, including the top five ready-to-fly racing drones, what FPV drone racing is, how it works, and a glossary of important drone racing terms.
Flying an FPV (first person view) racing drone is an otherworldly experience.
Before now, only in movies and video games could most people experience a bird’s-eye view while racing through obstacles at breakneck speeds. Thanks to FPV quadcopters, hexacopters, and other multirotors, anyone with enough flying skill to maneuver a drone can have this experience.
Drone Racing as a Competitive Sport and Exciting Hobby
FPV racing is growing rapidly as a competitive sport, and it’s become commercialized by organizations like the Drone Racing League, U.S. Drone Racing Association, and events like the World Drone Racing Championships. Pilots compete to make it to the top of the international rankings and to win prize money up to tens of thousands of dollars.
These quadcopters can fly up to 120 miles per hour (or faster) through hoops, around trees, over bars, and just about any object.
Race tracks are set up to challenge each pilot’s skill set. Professional tracks set up for sanctioned races can get extremely complex, requiring pilots to make acrobatic maneuvers to get around/through each obstacle. Many drone racing pilots also enjoy setting up their own courses, using DIY racecourse kits.
How to Get Into FPV Drone Racing
If you’re interested in becoming a professional drone racing pilot, you need to practice, practice, practice! An excellent way to develop your flight skills is to practice on a simulator, like the DRL Simulator or the DJI Flight Simulator.
[We asked the 2018 DRL Allianz World Champion Paul “Nurk” Nurkkala what advice he’d give to aspiring racing pilots. Check out the interview here.]
You should also plug into the drone racing community. Look for local racing events in your area and join a drone racing league. Attending events as a spectator can help you learn more about the sport and may give you an opportunity to network with or seek mentorship from an experienced racing pilot.
Here are the different leagues and championships available:
- The Drone Racing League – The DRL is a global, professional drone racing circuit for elite pilots. The DRL season involves different races in which pilots accumulate points. Pilots with the highest number of points qualify for the World Championship.
- MultiGP Drone Racing League – With chapters all over the world and events and classes for all types of FPV racers, MultiGP is leading the way in FPV racing and event management.
- British Drone Racing Association – This group is a “Specialist Body” of the British Model Flying Association and provides racing opportunities via club programs and the British Drone Racing Championships.
- Drone Racing World eSports – These online drone racing events are the convergence of two major trends in the public arena today, the first being drones and the second being eSports. Drone racing pilots from all around the world compete on the Multiplay eSports simulator.
Choosing the Right FPV Racing Drone
Racing drones are very different from consumer camera drones use for photography and video, like the Mavic 2 Pro or Skydio 2.
Racing drones typically come in one of three setups:
1. Ready-to-fly (RTF) – Drones made for FPV racing that requires no additional assembly.
2. Bind-and-fly (BNF) – Drones that come completely assembled, but without a controller.
2. Kits – Bundles of compatible components that require some assembly. May include the frame, motor, connecting parts, the controller, the transmitter, and/or other parts.
3. DIY racing drones -Pilots handpick all the components of their system and put them together to create a DIY, custom-built racing drone system.
If you’re interested in checking out drone racing kits, here is an example from DJI (additional parts are required with each kit/system):
For the rest of this guide, we’ll be focused on ready-to-fly and bind-and-fly models.
Note #1: All specs/features are obtained from the manufacturer or retailer.
Note #2: On this list, we’ve included models available for sale on Amazon and DJI — as Amazon and DJI Associate partners, we earn a small commission for qualifying purchases. Please know that we’ve tested many of the models on this list, and we wouldn’t recommend anything we wouldn’t fly ourselves!
EMAX Hawk Pro FPV Drone
camera
1200 TVL
battery life
6-8 Min
good for
Beginner Racing Pilots
This unique racing drone is tiny but powerful. The large-capacity brushless motors combined with 210mm size make the drone superbly powerful.
Within the carbon fiber frame, this mini racing drone has a clean overlook and well-protected components. Not like other mini drones, EMAX Hawk Pro has an attached mushroom antenna to provide a better signal.
This is an excellent drone to start off with on your FPV racing journey. Before purchasing, know that this quad is BNF (bind and fly), meaning that you will need to purchase a remote controller separately before it is fully RTF (ready to fly).
Features
- Carbon fiber frame
- One-button design to switch video output
- Pulsar brushless motor system
Specs
- Size: 210 mm
- Weight: 265 g (battery excluded)
- Camera: 1200 TVL
- Transmission: 5.8 G video transmission
- Flight Time: 6 – 8 min
- Battery: 3S/4S Li-Po
Walkera F210 3D Edition Racing Drone
camera
700 TVL
battery life
8-9 Minutes
good for
Intermediate Racing Pilots
The Walkera F210 3D Edition is one of the most popular ready-to-fly FPV drones on the market.
This racing drone features a modern industrial modular carbon fiber frame design that’s ultra-durable and crash-resistant. Its flight control system enables stable flight and precise flight maneuvers such as flips, rolls, and race course moves. The drone can also come to a quick stop and eliminate the drift due to inertia, lowering collision risk.
It is also simple to disassemble and reassemble, which means it’s ready to fly as is, or can be customized by the pilot. The Walkera F210 is equipped with a 700TVL HD camera and a 5.8 G real-time image transmission for live FPV streaming.
The Walkera F210 3D Edition is a solid FPV racing drone at a modest price for serious racers.
Features
- Carbon fiber frame
- Simple to assemble and disassemble
- HD night vision camera
Specs
- Size: 182 mm
- Weight: 370g (battery excluded)
- Camera: 700 TVL
- Transmission: 5.8 G real-time image transmission
- Flight Time: 8 – 9 minutes
- Battery: 4S Li-Po
ARRIS X220 V2 220mm Racing Drone
camera
1200 TVL
battery life
12 Min
good for
Beginner/Intermediate Racing Pilots
This ready-to-fly FPV racing drone, ARRIS X2220 V2, is fully assembled, tuned and tested before leaving the factory. Plug the battery, then fly.
The new ARRIS 2205 brushless motor and 5045 propellers can work together to offer the highest performance. It supports GPS mode, Attitude Mode, and Manual mode. It also supports accurate position hold, return to home (with user setup), and Intelligent Orientation Control (IOC).
Plus, the ARRIS FPV mini camera is specially designed for FPV. This camera performs well in both bright and dark conditions with 1200 TVL high-quality images. The camera angle on the drone is also adjustable.
Features
- Carbon/glass fiber composite sheet frame
- 3 Flight Modes: GPS mode, Attitude Mode and Manual Mode
- Position Hold, Return-To-Home and Intelligent Orientation Control
- Knul design ensures the stability of prop installation
- Cooling system
Specs
- Size: 250 mm
- Weight: 400 g
- Camera: 1200 TVL
- Transmission: 5.8 G video transmission
- Flight Time: 12 min
- Battery: 4S Li-Po
Walkera F210 Professional
camera
700 TVL
battery life
12 Min
good for
Professionals
Walkera F210 Professional will get your adrenaline pumping whether racing on the track or freestyle. It’s the latest ready-to-fly racing drone quadcopter. The quad is designed around the F3 Flight Controller with rapid response speed, providing pilots a first-class flight experience.
If you are into racing and freestyle aerobatic flying, this may be for you. The airframe design is modern, simple, lightweight fuselage but with a rugged crash structure. This ready-to-fly racing drone comes with high-performance brushless motors, night vision, and a 40c 4S LiPo battery, to give you that adrenaline rush!
Features
- Carbon fiber frame
- Aluminum fittings
- Integrated PDB (power distribution board)
- Compact design with battery on top
- Imaging system with FOV-130°wide-angle lens
Specs
- Size: 182 mm
- Weight: 370 g (battery excluded)
- Camera: 700 TVL Video
- Transmission: 5.8G video transmission
- Flight Time: 12 min
- Battery: 40c 4S Li-Po
DJI FPV Drone
camera
4K, 60 fps
battery life
20 Minutes
good for
Intermediate/Advanced Racing Pilots
The DJI FPV drone has created an entry point for FPV flying. It has also shaken up the more traditional offerings from DJI by allowing those who have never flown FPV before to dive right in without needing to build a custom drone or learn specialized piloting skills. Its hybrid design makes it great for both cinematic flying or racing. With a 4K Super-Wide camera and RockSteady Stabilization, action-packed footage has never looked so good.
The optional Motion Controller redefines the flying experience by giving the pilot real-time control and feedback within a simple hand movement. The new audience mode allows others with FPV goggles to watch your flight in real-time. Other flight modes include:
- N mode for new users
- M mode for manual FPV racing
- S mode for capturing cinematic FPV footage
New to FPV flying? Not to worry, with Emergency Brake and Hover, you can stop on a dime and hover at any moment. Other safety features include:
- An auxiliary bottom light
- Smart and Low Battery Return to Home
- Both forward and backward obstacle sensors
Features
- Ocusync 3.0 allows for a 6.2-mile transmission range
- Color-changing front LED’s
- 150° FOV
- Auxiliary bottom light
- Obstacle sensing
- DJI AirSense (ADS-B receiver alerts you of nearby manned aircraft)
Specs
- Size: 245 mm
- Weight: 795 g
- Camera: 4K at 60 fps
- Battery: DJI Intelligent Flight Battery (20 minutes of flight time)
Glossary
FPV (first person view): Using a screen, monitor, or goggles to view what your multirotor’s camera is seeing in real time.
Line of Sight (LoS): Being able to physically see your drone as you’re piloting it.
FPV racing: A rapidly growing sport in which pilots race small quadcopters around a predetermined track.
RTF (ready to fly) racing drones: Drones made for FPV racing that require no additional assembly.
DIY racing drones: A homemade do-it-yourself racing drone.
FPV camera: A special camera used for first-person-view racing, piloting, photography, or videography.
FPV goggles: A special set of goggles used to view what the multirotor’s camera is seeing in real time.
Head tracking: An FPV goggle mod that allows you to adjust your camera’s angle mid-flight by tilting your head.
Interpupillary distance: Internal goggle lens distance from the center of your pupils.
LCD monitor: A screen, usually attached to the controller, used to view what a multirotor’s camera is seeing. Usually used instead of goggles.
Transmitter: Relays the camera’s feed to the receiver.
Receiver: Accepts the camera’s feed and relays it to your screen/goggles of choice.
Frequency: The radio frequency FPV equipment runs on. Can be brand-dependent. Allows for multiple channels so pilots don’t interfere with each other.
FPV system: The entire drone rig, from the multirotor itself, to the connecting parts, to the controller and video display method.
On Screen Display (OSD): Gives you flight telemetry data (speed, altitude, battery life, etc) on your FPV display. See a full OSD guide here.
TVL (Resolution): The camera’s resolution, which helps determine video feed quality and clarity.
CCD camera type: Camera that uses a charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor. Typically better for FPV.
CMOS camera type: Camera that uses a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. Typically cheaper than CCD cameras, but not as good for FPV.
Video Latency: Lag in what your camera sees and when it transmits it to your screen/goggles. Can lead to inaccurate flight, racing maneuvers, and aerial shots.
Jello: Vibration in your video caused by the multirotor itself.
