DroneSpace

[cranialrectosis]

Down the street from where I live and very close to the local high school a new type of shop has opened up in Colorado Springs.

DroneSpace is an indoor FPV multi-rotor flying venue with races, build classes, rentable copters/googles and 3D printing classes and printers for member use.

I am unaware of anything like this anywhere else.

From what I can see from their web page, lessons are done with Connex Falcore racing copters similar to this one probably flown in Horizon mode.

Custom 3D printing is $15 per hour using their 'fleet of 3D printers' and they offer CAD classes and beginner 3D printing for guys like me who never graduated from hobby knives and glue.

I am hoping to drop by this place this evening after work to check it out. By the time I get home today it will be dark outside and below freezing. I can't think of a better place to go to fly in the dark days of winter and during the work week than an indoor venue.

The local club is 30 miles outside of town at the airport as it is illegal to throw or fly anything in any park in the city or county. The local club is a LOT cheaper, but there you have to drive about 45 minutes, it's outside so it's cold in the winter and windy in the summer, you need an AMA membership and FAA registration and you have to mow if you want to land.


I am also considering lessons including flight and 3D CAD just to see what this place is all about and see what skills I may have missed in the past few years of flying solo.

The copter power/size limits are 4S and 3" props. If I fly here, I am going to have to build a Gremlin.

Has anyone else seen anything like this elsewhere?

What do you think FliteTest? Is this a wave of the future?

 

[sprzout]

Down the street from where I live and very close to the local high school a new type of shop has opened up in Colorado Springs.

DroneSpace is an indoor FPV multi-rotor flying venue with races, build classes, rentable copters/googles and 3D printing classes and printers for member use.

I am unaware of anything like this anywhere else.

From what I can see from their web page, lessons are done with Connex Falcore racing copters similar to this one probably flown in Horizon mode.

Custom 3D printing is $15 per hour using their 'fleet of 3D printers' and they offer CAD classes and beginner 3D printing for guys like me who never graduated from hobby knives and glue.

I am hoping to drop by this place this evening after work to check it out. By the time I get home today it will be dark outside and below freezing. I can't think of a better place to go to fly in the dark days of winter and during the work week than an indoor venue.

The local club is 30 miles outside of town at the airport as it is illegal to throw or fly anything in any park in the city or county. The local club is a LOT cheaper, but there you have to drive about 45 minutes, it's outside so it's cold in the winter and windy in the summer, you need an AMA membership and FAA registration and you have to mow if you want to land.


I am also considering lessons including flight and 3D CAD just to see what this place is all about and see what skills I may have missed in the past few years of flying solo.

The copter power/size limits are 4S and 3" props. If I fly here, I am going to have to build a Gremlin.

Has anyone else seen anything like this elsewhere?

What do you think FliteTest? Is this a wave of the future?

SF area was doing a "Drinks n' Drones" thing for a while; people would come in and watch, in a blacklight club environment, people race drones, while sipping adult beverages and snacking on appetizers...Supposedly, you could come in and rent a TinyWhoop and fly it in a netted area around the course as well, but I have no idea as to how well it's worked...

 

[ElectriSean]

That looks really cool... Nothing even close to that around here. All we have are "No Drone Zone" signs popping up EVERYWHERE.

 

[PsyBorg]

Sounds like they scammed on the FT destination location on a smaller scale. As for instructors.. well You Tube has shown us a ton of people teach building and set up that have no business being near a quad so hopefully the "Instructors" there have at least half a clue as well as will preach safety and intelligent use for the "drones" (soo hate that word in regards to hobby grade aircraft..)

Drinks and Drone = BADDDDD Idea. It may be done in a safer environment but promoting substance abuse to any hobby in any form is just not smart.

It is cool though that it is so close to you Cranial. Maybe you could wedge yourself in there part time and make sure they do things right or at least be able to guide them in a good way. At any rate I am sure you just being around will be a good influence on some of the people that will surely be there.

 

[sprzout]

Sounds like they scammed on the FT destination location on a smaller scale. As for instructors.. well You Tube has shown us a ton of people teach building and set up that have no business being near a quad so hopefully the "Instructors" there have at least half a clue as well as will preach safety and intelligent use for the "drones" (soo hate that word in regards to hobby grade aircraft..)

Drinks and Drone = BADDDDD Idea. It may be done in a safer environment but promoting substance abuse to any hobby in any form is just not smart.

It is cool though that it is so close to you Cranial. Maybe you could wedge yourself in there part time and make sure they do things right or at least be able to guide them in a good way. At any rate I am sure you just being around will be a good influence on some of the people that will surely be there.

I kinda have to agree with the "Drinks N' Drones" idea. You really DO need a clear head to do it, but I think the intention of, "Hey, let's do a party vibe/rave thing," with the LED strips/blacklights is an interesting concept. You just need to find a way to leave the alcohol/drugs out of it because let's face it, if you ever strap on a set of goggles and try to fly while drunk or worse, high? You might freak out. If it was a "let's do informal bets" type of thing, it might work...

 

[cranialrectosis]

I managed to stop by the shop today. I got a tour, one of the pilots showed me a training copter a Connex Falcore. I am impressed with that one. The Falcore copter has a technology that uses sonar and it handles the throttle for you. The shop 3D prints a stop that fits on the Falcore transmitter to prevent drastic movements by trainees. These are easily removed once they know you can fly. The Falcore hovers <> 3' off the ground and you fly it with the right stick. This makes it very safe and very simple to teach someone basic flight controls.

The home gate is Raceband and calls out your copter's time. They use nice HD groundstations and everyone can see. They have nice loungy seats and their electronics are awesome. They change out the course periodically and the gates are both high and low.

All the ceiling mounted fire extinguisher sprinklers are covered with little metal gates.

They haven't been open long and were short on parts tonight. I intend to buy and build a copter in their training class (even though I have built about 20 of these things) so I can learn how they do it and maybe pick up a lesson or two. I figure there is always room for this butthead to learn.

You can fly your own so long as it's 3" props or smaller and 4S or lower and a 25mw Raceband transmitter. You can rent their nice FatShark Dominator goggles or use your own.

It is owned by a soldier and his fiance.

I hope to document the build and post it as well as maybe grab some video when I do fly. It will be a few weeks while I wait for parts and clear my evening schedule but I am pretty pumped. This copter and this venue will not require any FAA registrations or AMA affiliations. It's indoors and warm on a frigid night and it's 28 miles closer than the local field.

They host league races and pizza parties on Friday nights. I think I need to attend.

 

[PsyBorg]

Wow that sounds like they have put some thought into this and not just jumped on the Dronewagon. Also its a fellow Vet so I am full on down with this so far. Wish I was closer so I could go hehe.

 

[grnd flyr]

What an incredibly cool idea! Would really like to see this idea catch on to more places...

 

[sprzout]

If I had the financing, I know of a GREAT place in San Diego that I could open up to do this...It's a 2 story, former Ashley Furniture location, right off the freeway. Put in LED gates, timers, a makerspace area, maybe a smoothie bar/snack bar, you've got a perfect location.

*sigh* Good ideas, no business acumen or funding on my part...

 

[cranialrectosis]

Another thing I noted last night and have been considering is that I was the oldest person in the place last night.

The place really is set up to be kid friendly.

The copters they fly are too small to require pilot registration with the FAA and no AMA affiliation is required to fly. They bypass the whole regulatory/political miasma and go straight to the fun with flashing, Raspberry Pi controlled, LED gates, comfy seats, and pizza.


The entire flight area is cordoned off with two layers of netting <> 12 inches apart with signs posted on the netting to keep your hands off. You must fill out a safety form and sign a waiver to get past the front desk and be around pilots or the build area. Pilots are assigned a channel buddy to assist with flight line and frequency discipline.

No one enters the netted flight area other than the flight safety officer. All flights are recorded. Safety in the place is in line with pro drone racing or a military firing line but without being fascist. There is a strike system so pinheads can be isolated and removed but you really have to be a tool to get on the list. Timecop, maybe.

Because of all this, it seems to attract people who are passionate and open minded; safe but still able to have fun. There are no cranky, old guys talking down to kids and driving them away from the hobby.

I saw a few moms scouting the place out. One mom was being led around by her 12 or 13 year old daughters who were excited to be learning about our hobby in this environment.

Their top two pilots are a 15 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. I am really looking forward to learning from them if I can ever qualify.

 

[sprzout]

Another thing I noted last night and have been considering is that I was the oldest person in the place last night.

The place really is set up for kids.

The copters they fly are too small to require pilot registration with the FAA and no AMA affiliation is required to fly. They bypass the whole regulatory/political miasma and go straight to the fun with flashing, Raspberry Pi controlled, LED gates, comfy seats, and pizza.


The entire flight area is cordoned off with two layers of netting <> 12 inches apart with signs posted on the netting to keep your hands off. You must fill out a safety form and sign a waiver to get past the front desk and be around pilots or the build area. Pilots are assigned a channel buddy to assist with flight line and frequency discipline.

No one enters the netted flight area other than the flight safety officer. All flights are recorded. Safety in the place is in line with pro drone racing or a military firing line but without being fascist. There is a strike system so pinheads can be isolated and removed but you really have to be a tool to get on the list. Timecop, maybe.

Because of all this, it seems to attract people who are passionate and open minded; safe but still able to have fun. There are no cranky, old guys talking down to kids and driving them away from the hobby.

I saw a few moms scouting the place out. One mom was being led around by her 12 or 13 year old daughters who were excited to be learning about our hobby in this environment.

Their top two pilots are a 15 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. I am really looking forward to learning from them if I can ever qualify.

You don't need to have AMA membership to fly at a place like that. Never have. The AMA membership is more about insurance at a field, and getting money for a club, really...I'm sure that the business carries some sort of liability insurance (because no loan officer in their right mind is going to approve a loan for something like this without some sort of insurance). It sounds, more and more, like a 21st century arcade/skating rink (and I mean that in a GOOD way).

 

[cranialrectosis]

You don't need to have AMA membership to fly at a place like that. Never have. The AMA membership is more about insurance at a field, and getting money for a club, really...I'm sure that the business carries some sort of liability insurance (because no loan officer in their right mind is going to approve a loan for something like this without some sort of insurance). It sounds, more and more, like a 21st century arcade/skating rink (and I mean that in a GOOD way).

Great comparison sprzout! That was kinda the vibe I got last night too.

 

[cranialrectosis]

Got parts today including tiny 1306 4000kv emax red bottoms.

All parts sourced locally. I plan to build in their shop, hopefully this weekend.

I am totally excited to be working with the newer hardware. This little 20mm F3 FC and the 20mm 4 in 1 BLHeli_S ESCs are just phenomenal.


Sure is a long way from powering a 6', 3 channel Wanderer with D cells in 1985.

 

[PsyBorg]

Wow that place sounds more and more like a new way of life then merely a hobby. A place where fun can be had in a safe manor AND idiots are removed from the equation!! WAHOO!!!

Be back in a bit.. gonna check the penny saver for a skating rink to take over. Now If I can only find my "Pinky and the Brain" Brain costume...

 

[cranialrectosis]

Pilots have monikers there. I saw captain score a new personal record. Someone there is named Bix....

I plan to be CranialRectosis flying the ButtNugget quad!

Sorry PsyBorg. There will still be at least one idiot there.