Our first free flight was a success!

We met at the Fearless Flight Facility, managed by the UMD Aerospace Engineering department. It’s a massive netted area near ARLIS, large enough to even fly some light fixed wing configurations. We met at Regent’s Drive Garage and took the bus to the Metro, from where we walked. The walk was quite scenic: through a small park lining a local stream.

Once we got there, we set up and started our flight. The first two people to fly flew their own drones, both of which were 5-inch FPVs. They were able to perform some incredible maneuvers, like loop-de-loops and barrel rolls. Unfortunately, one of them sustained a pretty heavy crash, though that only damaged one propeller and still allowed the drone to fly.

Another member brought his styrofoam RC plane. Although it kept nearly stalling, it was able to fly around the arena multiple times and do some basic flips.

For those who didn’t bring their own drones, the club provided a tiny whoop and a 5-inch FPV to try out. Unfortunately, the tiny whoop batteries did not last long and the 5-inch FPV crashed almost immediately. Luckily, no serious damage was sustained and the drones were ready to fly again by the end of the day.

Altogether, we flew for two hours and the event ended at sunset. This was a very exciting experience for our members, and we were able to explore the fundamentals of flight together.