Drone Racing, just like any other sport or martial discipline, requires that the competitor devote time and effort to improving their skill. Whether it is practicing a certain section of a challenging track or building the muscle memory for a specific maneuver, it is the repetition of practice that turns skills into subconscious actions. The less that a Pilot “thinks” about the stick movements, the faster their lap times will be. So what are some good ways of turning your movements into muscle memory?
Some pilots say, “First you go fast, then you slow down…”. This is not the best way to learn. The classic marksman credo, “Slow is smooth; smooth is fast.” better suits the Drone Racer. You want to slowly build the subconscious muscle memory, then you want to focus on speeding up those maneuvers to shave time off your laps.
One of the best ways of improving your skills is by running drills, either in real life on the track, or on a Drone Racing Simulator. Set up a specific section of a track, like a chicane or a slalom, and devote a session to running those gates. This sort of back to back repetition will teach your hands and your mind to work together. Keep running those drills until you are no longer thinking about how to navigate the gates. Once you are running the drills without thinking, then you are getting close to having that series of obstacles locked in. Start timing your drills once you get to this point. Using the times as a reference will allow you to start working on shaving down the time it takes you to navigate the obstacles.
Follow these tips and you will be on the podium in no time! Who knows where your next victory will take you…..
