Competitors grumble over problems with Hong Kong's first ever drone contest
The first drone aerial photography and racing contest in the city on Sunday appeared to leave some participants unhappy about the limited space available, abrupt rule changes and radio signal interference.
The first drone aerial photography and racing contest in the city yesterday appeared to leave some participants unhappy about the limited space available, abrupt rule changes and radio signal interference.
The FlyHK competition was held at the Hong Kong Adventist Academy, attracting 22 drone fans eager to show off their manoeuvring skills.
Competition organiser Terry Chan Wai-nok said he hoped to promote drones to a wider audience and wanted the event to become an annual carnival.
Watch: Dozens join Hong Kong’s first ever drone racing and videography competition
The competition also served as a platform for people to exchange tips. "I have seen a lot of new models here," amateur drone enthusiast Sam Pang said.
But the competition, which offered two categories for entrants - drone racing and aerial photography - ended up with complaints about the arrangements, the venue size and rule changes.
While 12 participants were confident at the start of the racing category - in which they had to fly two circuits of a combined basketball and football pitch - seven of them ended up disappointed after their drones crashed.
Kim Tang was one of them, after his drone crashed in the middle of the race. Participants were required to control their drones through a panel screen and remote control. But Tang complained that he could not see anything on the screen when his drone made a turn.
"We should be given more time to test the radio frequencies with other participants and see if there is any signal interference," said Tang, an amateur drone player.
Huang Jia-hong, a 16-year-old secondary school student who came third in the race, was dissatisfied with the size of the track. "The place was small and we could not get inside and walk with the drone when it was flying," Huang said.
Watch: Hong Kong's first ever drone contest top prize video
Race champion Raphael Pirker said the track was not easy to manoeuvre. "The course arrangement was tricky. There were lots of tight turns and we often needed to slow down," said Pirker, a Swiss drone manufacturer whose gadget can fly at 90km/h.
Sudden rule changes affecting the aerial photography contest also upset some participants, as they were told at the last minute to submit video clips.
Watch: Hong Kong's first ever drone contest second prize video
Organiser Terry Chan said the arrangements would be reviewed, adding: "Testing time is not given in many other drone competitions.
"We will review venue issues and see what we can adjust."
