Listen Now to Zoe Katherine Stumbaugh
You ever wonder what it was like at the beginning of a new sport? Well, this time in history is the beginning of drone racing, fast little flying machines that can dazzle you with their speed and agility, able to turn on a dime and even sustain high speed crashes, and continue to race.
As the pilot wearing FPV googles (First Person View), your eyes are fed live video from the drone’s camera as you control the flight sticks, essentially making YOU the aircraft, hurtling through the landscape at up to 100 mph, through abandoned buildings and forests. As Zoe intimates in her online ‘Outer Limits’ flying vids, you are in charge of the “vertical and horizonal.”
Zoe is a pioneer racer in this nascent new sport, one of the few (but rapidly growing) population of female drone pilots that love to feel that need for speed. It also has to do with the freedom the sport offers. Having been bed-ridden in her early 20’s, the ability to suddenly be free of the tyrany of gravity and fly with the birds in your own neighborhood was tremendous. And of course, having the mind and technical skills to build them and rebuild them after crashes certainly helps.
In our interview we discuss many significant aspects of the drone universe, including the new rules coming down from the Federal Aviation Administration. With over half a million drones sold this Christmas, 2016 truly is the year of the drones. Enjoy!
