The timeline is split into four tables by period. "Racing" rows are events not run by one of the named bodies. Law rows name their jurisdiction, and association rows (AMA, FPV UK, MAAA) are labelled as associations, not law. Results of different bodies are never combined. The story behind each row is on the pages linked from the History index.
Before organised racing, to 2013
| Date | Area | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | US law | FAA recommends voluntary model aircraft operating standards in Advisory Circular 91-57 (as the FAA recounted in 2014) | FAA, 79 FR 36172 |
| Late 1990s | Equipment | FPV radio-control aircraft emerge as cameras and transmitters become light enough | Bard, citing Air & Space (2011) |
| 2007 | US law | FAA policy statement on unmanned aircraft (as recounted in 2014) | FAA, 79 FR 36172 |
| 2007 | Equipment | Fat Shark founded by Greg French | Wikipedia |
| Early 2008 (approx.) | Equipment | Pilot View, among the first off-the-shelf FPV systems, goes on sale in the US | Model Aviation (2012) |
| April 2008 | US law | FAA begins its small unmanned aircraft regulatory effort | Model Aviation (2012) |
| October 2008 | Association (US) | AMA recognises FPV; its first FPV policy is Document 550 | Model Aviation (2012) |
| 2011 | Racing | Semi-organised races in Karlsruhe, Germany: one of several disputed origin accounts | Wikipedia |
| 14 February 2012 | US law | FAA Modernization and Reform Act signed; section 336 special rule for model aircraft | 79 FR 36172 |
| Around 2012 | Racing | Drone racing material appears from Australia (the DRL chief executive's recollection, a claim) | Fortune (2016) |
The sport takes shape, 2014 to 2016
| Date | Area | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | FAI | CIAM Plenary sets up a UAV Working Group | FAI (older site) |
| 2014 | Association (US) | AMA Document 551 on indoor FPV with ultra-micro and micro aircraft | AMA |
| Around 2014 | Racing | French club's forest race video draws millions of views; FPV racing group starts in California; indoor races in Australia | Bard |
| 23 and 25 June 2014 | US law | FAA interpretation (effective 23 June, published 25 June) says the statute precludes FPV goggles for model aircraft | 79 FR 36172 |
| August 2014 | Association (US) | AMA petitions the US Court of Appeals for review of the interpretation; outcome not found | AMA blog (2016) |
| Early 2015, or February 2015 | MultiGP | MultiGP founded by Chris Thomas ("early 2015" is the founder's claim; only Wikipedia gives February) | MultiGP; Wikipedia |
| Early 2015, or 2015 | DRL | Drone Racing League founded by Nicholas Horbaczewski | Arab News (early 2015); The Ringer and Wikipedia (2015) |
| 2015 | FAI | CIAM Plenary creates an Organising Committee for International Events for Drones; F3U class and World Cup proposed | FAI (older site) |
| May 2015, or April 2015 | Racing | First AMA-sanctioned race: May, Santa Barbara High School, won by Zoe Stumbaugh (AMA), or April, "Santa Cruz FPV Drone Race" (Bard) | Model Aviation (2017); Bard |
| 16 and 17 July 2015 | Racing | US national championship, reported by Quartz as the first, California State Fair, Sacramento; Chad Nowak (Australia) wins | Nextgov (Quartz); Make: (winner) |
| Fall 2015 | DRL | Proof-of-concept race in Yonkers, New York | The Ringer |
| 24 November 2015 | MultiGP | AMA names MultiGP an official Special Interest Group for FPV racing | AMA release |
| December 2015 | MultiGP | MultiGP national championship, Ocoee, Florida; Shaun Taylor wins | Model Aviation (2017) |
| December 2015 | DRL | First season opener filmed at Sun Life Stadium, Miami (Sports Illustrated puts the first race in early 2016) | Fortune (January 2016); Sports Illustrated |
| 16 and 21 December 2015 | US law | FAA registration interim final rule published (16 December) and effective (21 December); search summary | Federal Register |
| January 2016, or 22 February 2016 | DRL | First season launches | Wikipedia (January); Fortune (22 February) |
| Early 2016 (unconfirmed) | Equipment | Tiny Whoop: a modified Blade Inductrix credited to Jesse Perkins (single undated source) | drohnen.de |
| March 2016 | Racing | World Drone Prix, Dubai; Luke Bannister (UK, 15) wins | sUAS News |
| April 2016 | FAI | CIAM Plenary approves the provisional F3U class and the World Cup for 2016 | FAI 2016 report |
| 13 to 15 May 2016 | FAI | First FAI World Cup event, Le Plan, Pourrieres, France | FAI 2016 report |
| 16 June 2016 | Association (US) | AMA racing recommendations: micro class up to 150 mm, 250 mm class, 4S batteries | AMA |
| 28 June 2016 | US law | Part 107 final rule published; takes effect 29 August 2016 | 81 FR 42064 |
| July 2016 | Racing | Drone Sports Association forms after an aborted merger | Bard |
| 5 to 7 August 2016 | Racing | US National Drone Racing Championships, Governors Island, New York (DSA); Zachry Thayer wins | Model Aviation (2016) |
| 2 to 4 September 2016, or 4 September | MultiGP | MultiGP championship, Muncie, Indiana; Shaun Taylor wins; more than 140 pilots or over 100 | Model Aviation (2017); DroneLife and Wikipedia (more than 140); Wikipedia's MultiGP article (4 September, over 100) |
| 29 September 2016 | Australia law | Part 101 amendment creates an excluded category for aircraft under 2 kg (secondary, unconfirmed) | Conventus Law |
| 17 to 22 October 2016 | Racing | DSA "Drone Worlds", Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii, billed by its organiser as the first-ever world championships | sUAS News (DSA release) |
| 23 October 2016 | DRL | DRL episodes begin airing on ESPN and ESPN2 | Sports Illustrated |
| 2016 | Racing | Australian Drone Nationals begin, on the Gold Coast | Region Canberra |
| 2016 season | FAI | Vincent Delcommene (Belgium) wins the first FAI World Cup | FAI 2016 report |
Rules and championships, 2017 to 2020
| Date | Area | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 and 30 April 2017 | FAI | FAI drone event organisers' meeting, Lausanne | FAI (older site) |
| 19 May 2017 | US law | Taylor v. Huerta vacates the registration rule as applied to model aircraft | D.C. Circuit |
| June 2017 | DRL | DRL simulator released on Steam | The Ringer |
| July 2017 | DRL | RacerX record, 163.5 mph (Guinness, 20 July 2017); The Ringer reports a peak of almost 180 mph | Guinness; The Ringer |
| 2017 | FAI | World Cup won by Dario Neuenschwander (Switzerland) (unconfirmed) | FAI headline, search summary |
| 20 October 2017 | Australia law | CASA's magazine reports the 30 m rule (current wording unconfirmed) | Flight Safety Australia |
| 12 December 2017 | US law | NDAA for FY2018 section 1092(d) restores registration for hobbyist drones | Wiley law alert |
| 5 June 2018 | US radio law | FCC Enforcement Advisory 2018-02 on drone video transmitters | FCC |
| 30 July 2018 | UK law | 400 ft limit and 1 km protected-aerodrome restriction | SI 2018/623 |
| 14 September 2018 | DRL | DRL championship final, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia | Arab News |
| 5 October 2018 | US law | FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 signed; section 349 replaces section 336 with 49 U.S.C. 44809 | 84 FR 22552 |
| November 2018 (FAI news 4 November) | FAI | 1st FAI World Drone Racing Championship, Shenzhen; Rudi Browning (Australia, 15) wins | FAI |
| 2018 | FAI | World Cup won by Killian Rousseau (France) | FAI 2024 report |
| 2018 | FAI | CIAM Plenary creates a drone category: from 1 January 2019 drone matters fall under F9 Drone Sport | FAI CIAM page (2025 mirror) |
| 9 January 2019 | Canada law | SOR/2019-11 published (registered 21 December 2018) | Canada Gazette |
| 2019 | FAI | Masters series introduced in the World Cup | FAI 2024 report |
| 1 May 2019 | FAI | F9 volume, 2019 edition, takes effect; F9U provisional; propeller protection devices forbidden | FAI F9 (2019) |
| 17 May 2019 | US law | FAA notice on the recreational exception: visual observer required for FPV | 84 FR 22552 |
| 24 May 2019 | EU law | Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 adopted | legislation.gov.uk |
| 1 June 2019 | Canada law | Part IX operating rules in force; MAAC exemption NCR-011-2019 takes effect (current status unconfirmed) | Canada Gazette; Transport Canada |
| 31 July 2019 | Equipment | DJI launches its Digital FPV system (maker's "first" claim) | DJI |
| 19 August 2019 | Association (Australia) | MAAA FPV policy MOP066, version D | MAAA |
| 30 November 2019 | UK law | Registration and competency requirements for 250 g and above | SI 2018/623 |
| 11 to 14 December 2019 | FAI | Championship Grand Final, Xiangshan, Ningbo; Changhyeon Kang (Korea, 16) wins | FAI |
| Fall 2019, or late 2020 | Equipment | Fat Shark Byte Frost (fall 2019, unconfirmed) and Shark Byte (around late 2020) | Oscar Liang, search summary; DroneLife |
| 1 January 2020 | FAI | F9 rule changes take effect: the ban on propeller protection devices is removed (no safety reason to prohibit them) and each battery cell is limited to 4.25 V, as the 2025 edition's change log records | FAI F9 (2025) |
| 16 March 2020 | FAI | CIAM suspends events for COVID-19; no 2020 World Cup ranking and no Grand Final | FAI |
| 2020 | DRL | No DRL championship; season cancelled for COVID-19 | Wikipedia |
| 4 June 2020 | EU law | Regulation (EU) 2020/746 postpones 2019/947 by six months (search summary) | legislation.gov.uk |
| 31 December 2020 | EU law | Regulation 2019/947 applies (delayed from 1 July 2020) | EASA FAQ 116446 |
| 31 December 2020 | UK law | UK applies the retained EU-derived rules (date from search summaries) | CAP2320 (legal basis) |
| 31 December 2020 | Association (UK) | FPV UK's Article 16 authorisation takes effect (association's account) | FPV UK |
Digital video, official status and scheduled dates, 2021 to 2030
| Date | Area | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 January 2021 | US law | Remote ID final rule published; effective 16 March 2021, or 21 April 2021 (the later date unconfirmed) | 86 FR 4390; Justia, search summary |
| 3 March 2021 | Association (US) | AMA Document 550 updated: spotter next to every FPV pilot | AMA |
| 22 June 2021 | US law | FAA launches TRUST with its first approved test administrators | DroneXL |
| 2021 | FAI | No World Cup held, by the FAI's count | FAI 2024 report |
| Around the end of 2021 | Equipment | Divimath begins selling its system directly as HDZero | Oscar Liang |
| 1 January 2022 | EU law | Geographical zone data due in a common digital format | EASA FAQ 116446 |
| 21 February 2022 | EU law | EASA publishes its FPV and racing page (racing age 16, with national exemptions) | EASA |
| May or June 2022 | Equipment | Caddx Walksnail Avatar HD released (maker's pages; month disputed, unconfirmed) | Caddx |
| July 2022 (FAI news 11 July) | World Games | Drone racing at The World Games, Birmingham, Alabama; Killian Rousseau (France) wins | FAI |
| 1 September 2022 | Australia law | CASA.RPAS.0572 commences: FPV for MAAA affiliate members and listed visitor classes at registered MAAA club fields and CASA-approved MAAA events | CASA (MAAA copy) |
| 16 September 2022 | US law | Remote ID producer compliance date; FRIA applications open | 86 FR 4390 |
| 2022 | FAI | World Cup won by Minjae Kim (Korea) | FAI 2024 report |
| 1 January 2023 | EU law | End of the transitional period; full open-category compliance | EASA FAQ 116446 |
| 25 February 2023 | DRL | "Miami 3-0-FLY" DRL world championship race, loanDepot Park (unconfirmed; no result read) | Refresh Miami, search summary |
| 16 September 2023 | US law | Remote ID operator compliance date | 86 FR 4390 |
| 9 October 2023 (final day) | FAI | 3rd World Drone Racing Championship, Namwon, Korea; MinChan Kim (Korea) wins | FAI |
| 2023 | FAI | World Cup won by Killian Rousseau (France) | FAI 2024 report |
| 1 January 2024 | EU law | C1 to C3 drones must fly with active remote ID; transitional weight limits ended 31 December 2023 | EASA (20 December 2023) |
| 16 March 2024 | US law | End of FAA enforcement discretion for Remote ID operators | FR Doc. 2023-20074 |
| April 2024 | DRL | The Drone Racing League is acquired by Infinite Reality | The Drone Girl |
| 12 and 13 April 2024 | FAI | CIAM Plenary makes F9U an official class, with World Championships in even years | FAI |
| 16 May 2024 | US law | Pub. L. 118-63 amends 49 U.S.C. 44809 (recreational fixed sites) | LII |
| 25 June 2024 | EU law | EASA FAQ 140038: races with spectators belong in the specific category | EASA |
| 21 October 2024 | Australia law | Explanatory statement for EX64/24 describes CASR 101.073 and the 30 m rule, 101.245 | Federal Register of Legislation |
| 31 October to 3 November 2024 | FAI | 4th World Drone Racing Championship, Hangzhou; Yuki Hashimoto (Japan) wins | FAI |
| 2024 | FAI | World Cup won by Minjae Kim (Korea); first e-Drone Racing World Cup won by Swan Versmissen (France) | FAI 2024 report; FAI |
| 1 February 2025 | DRL | Last announced DRL event, the Miami Invitational; whether it was held is unconfirmed | The Drone Girl; Wikipedia |
| 1 April 2025 | Canada law | An SFOC needed to fly an aircraft under 250 g at an advertised event | Transport Canada AIM |
| 1 May 2025 | FAI | F9 volume, 2025 edition, takes effect; its change log records the earlier removal of the propeller-protection ban (effective 1 January 2020) | FAI F9 (2025) |
| 13 to 16 August 2025 | World Games | Drone racing at The World Games, Chengdu; Yuki Hashimoto (Japan) wins | FAI World Games page (2025 mirror) |
| 2025 | MultiGP | First MultiGP European Championship, Aichtal, Germany (a MultiGP event, not the FAI's) | MultiGP |
| 22 December 2025 | US radio law | New foreign-produced drones and critical components barred from FCC authorisation (Covered List) | FCC fact sheet (7 January 2026) |
| 1 January 2026, or 1 June 2026 | FAI | F9 volume, 2026 edition, takes effect (date disputed; edition not read) | Search summary of the FAI cover; Prism News, search summary |
| 1 January 2026 | UK law | Flyer ID from 100 g; UK class marks; Direct Remote ID for UK1, UK2, UK3, UK5 and UK6 (UK5 and UK6 in the Specific category) | CAA |
| 2026 | DRL | DRL assets auctioned in a liquidation (Wikipedia only; unconfirmed) | Wikipedia |
| 2026 | Canada law | NPA 2026-005 proposes Remote ID (proposal stage only; no final rule was found) | Transport Canada |
| 3 September 2026 | World Games | IWGA's confirmed programme for The World Games 2029 has no drone racing | IWGA |
| 15 to 17 October 2026 | MultiGP | MultiGP Championship, Carrollton, Texas; a MultiGP headline says MCK won (headline only; the standings were not read) | MultiGP |
| End of August 2027 (scheduled) | Australia law | CASA.RPAS.0572 is repealed | CASA (MAAA copy) |
| 1 January 2028 (scheduled) | UK law | Direct Remote ID extends to UK0 with a camera, UK4, and privately built and legacy aircraft of 100 g or more with a camera | CAA |
| 2030 (proposed) | Canada law | Transport Canada anticipates full Remote ID implementation for pilots | Transport Canada |
Not on this timeline: a first drone race, because no source documents one (see origins of FPV flying), and any 2026 FAI World Drone Racing Championship, because none was found when this page was written.
Sources
- Federal Register, FAA Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, 79 FR 36172 (25 June 2014)
- Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College, Need to Know: Drone Racing (Matt Windsor, 13 August 2016, updated 18 January 2017)
- Wikipedia, Fat Shark (secondary)
- Model Aviation (AMA), The growing world of first-person-view model aviation (Dave Mathewson, August 2012)
- Wikipedia, Drone racing (secondary)
- Fortune, on the future of drone racing (Lev Grossman, 9 August 2016)
- FAI, Drone Racing: An attractive new air sport (older FAI site, undated)
- AMA government affairs blog, AMA members may continue flying FPV (31 August 2016)
- AMA, Document 551, FPV for indoor flying of ultra-micro and micro aircraft (approved 2014)
- MultiGP, A Message From Chris Thomas (undated; written in 2017 by its own wording)
- Wikipedia, MultiGP (secondary)
- The Ringer, on the Drone Racing League (Ben Lindbergh, 7 September 2018)
- Arab News, the 2018 Drone Racing League final in Saudi Arabia (16 September 2018)
- Model Aviation (AMA), National Model Aviation Museum staff on the first AMA-sanctioned FPV race (August 2017 issue)
- Nextgov (from Quartz), First national drone racing championship underway in California (Mike Murphy, 17 July 2015)
- AMA History Project, AMA press release welcoming MultiGP as a Special Interest Group (Mandee Mikulski, 24 November 2015)
- Model Aviation (AMA), MultiGP and its 2016 championship (Rachelle Haughn, April 2017 issue)
- Fortune, Now there's a Drone Racing League (John Gaudiosi, 26 January 2016)
- Federal Register, Registration and Marking Requirements for Small Unmanned Aircraft, 80 FR 78593 (16 December 2015; search-result summary)
- Wikipedia, Drone Racing League (secondary)
- drohnen.de, the Tiny Whoop (undated, in German)
- sUAS News, Luke Bannister wins Dubai drone GP (Gary Mortimer, March 2016)
- FAI, 2016 FPV Racing World Cup report (Bruno Delor, 24 November 2016)
- AMA, FPV Multi-Rotor Club Sport Racing Recommendations (16 June 2016)
- Federal Register, Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, 81 FR 42064 (28 June 2016)
- Model Aviation (AMA), US National Drone Racing Championship 2016 (Patrick Sherman, December 2016 issue)
- Conventus Law, Australia's Part 101 amendments (11 October 2016; secondary)
- sUAS News, Drone Sports Association release on the first-ever World Drone Championships, 17 to 22 October 2016, Hawaii (October 2016)
- Sports Illustrated, the Drone Racing League on ESPN (Mark J. Burns, 1 October 2016)
- Region Canberra, Australia's biggest drone race is taking off in Canberra (17 August 2022)
- US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Taylor v. Huerta, No. 15-1495 (decided 19 May 2017)
- Guinness World Records, The Drone Racing League builds the world's fastest racing drone (20 July 2017)
- FAI, 2017 World Cup champion news headline (search-result summary only)
- Flight Safety Australia (CASA), new drone rules (20 October 2017)
- Wiley, law alert on drone registration restored by the NDAA (18 December 2017)
- FCC Enforcement Bureau, Enforcement Advisory No. 2018-02, DA 18-581 (5 June 2018)
- legislation.gov.uk, The Air Navigation (Amendment) Order 2018 (SI 2018/623), explanatory note
- Federal Register, FAA notice: Exception for Limited Recreational Operations of Unmanned Aircraft, 84 FR 22552 (17 May 2019)
- FAI, 1st FAI World Drone Racing Championship results (news of 4 November 2018, 2025 mirror)
- FAI, 2024 Drone Racing World Cup report (Bruno Delor, V1 of 25 November 2024)
- FAI, CIAM drone sport page (2025 mirror of fai.org)
- Canada Gazette Part II, SOR/2019-11 (9 January 2019)
- FAI Sporting Code Section 4, Volume F9 Drone Sport, 2019 edition (effective 1 May 2019)
- legislation.gov.uk, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, as adopted
- Transport Canada, exemption NCR-011-2019 (MAAC)
- DJI, announcement of the DJI Digital FPV system (31 July 2019)
- MAAA, MOP066 First Person View (FPV) and Self Guided Model Aircraft Policy, version D (19 August 2019)
- FAI, 2019 World Drone Racing Championship Grand Final (14 December 2019, 2025 mirror)
- FAI, Drone Racing World Cup 2020 and COVID-19 suspension (2025 mirror)
- legislation.gov.uk, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/746 (search-result summary)
- Oscar Liang, Fat Shark Shark Byte (search-result summary only)
- DroneLife, FPV goggles: did DJI kill analog? A hobbyist view (30 December 2021)
- EASA, FAQ 116446 (last updated 13 October 2020)
- UK CAA, The Drone and Model Aircraft Code, CAP2320 (March 2026)
- FPV UK, CAA Article 16 Operational Authorisation (association's own account, 16 December 2020)
- Federal Register, Remote Identification of Unmanned Aircraft, final rule, 86 FR 4390 (15 January 2021)
- Justia, Federal Register action of 10 March 2021 on the Remote ID effective date (returned an error; search-result summary only)
- AMA, Document 550, Uncrewed Aircraft Operations Utilizing First-Person View (3 March 2021)
- DroneXL, FAA launches the Recreational UAS Safety Test (22 June 2021)
- Oscar Liang, HDZero digital FPV system review (trade reviewer; first published April 2022)
- EASA, Drone racing and flying a drone with goggles (FPV) (published 21 February 2022, updated 26 September 2022)
- Caddx, Walksnail Avatar system (blog, 24 March 2023)
- FAI, The World Games 2022 drone racing results (11 July 2022, 2025 mirror)
- CASA, CASA.RPAS.0572 First Person View Operation (MAAA) Approval 2022 (copy hosted by the MAAA)
- Refresh Miami, DRL world championship event at loanDepot Park (search-result summary only)
- FAI, 3rd World Drone Racing Championship, Namwon (10 October 2023, 2025 mirror)
- EASA, Drone Open Category: applicable requirements to fly from 1 January 2024 (20 December 2023)
- Federal Register, FAA Remote ID enforcement policy, FR Doc. 2023-20074 (published 15 September 2023)
- FAI, CIAM Plenary 2024 report (16 April 2024, 2025 mirror)
- Cornell LII, 49 U.S.C. 44809
- EASA, FAQ 140038 (updated 25 June 2024)
- Federal Register of Legislation, explanatory statement for CASA EX64/24 (21 October 2024)
- FAI, 2024 World Drone Racing Championship event and results page (2025 mirror)
- FAI, e-Drone Racing World Cup 2024 results (10 December 2024, 2025 mirror)
- The Drone Girl, DRL U.S. Air Force Miami Invitational (22 October 2024, updated 20 November 2024)
- Transport Canada, Aeronautical Information Manual, RPA chapter (effective 19 March 2026)
- FAI Sporting Code Section 4, Volume F9 Drone Sports, 2025 edition (effective 1 May 2025)
- FAI, The World Games page (2025 mirror)
- MultiGP, 2025 European Championship article
- FCC, Fact Sheet: Covered List update and FAQs on drones (7 January 2026)
- FAI Sporting Code Section 4, Volume F9, 2026 edition (not read; host did not resolve)
- Prism News, drone racing's 2026 rules (trade press; search-result summary only)
- UK CAA, news release on the rules from 1 January 2026 (29 December 2025)
- UK CAA, Remote ID policy page
- UK CAA, Remote ID (RID) guidance page
- Transport Canada, summary of NPA 2026-005 information sessions (page last modified 14 August 2026)
- IWGA, The World Games 2029 Karlsruhe confirmed sports programme (3 September 2026)
- MultiGP, Championship page (read 30 October 2026)
- Make:, FPV drone racing goes big league (Mike Senese, 23 July 2015)
- DroneLife, MultiGP registers 11,000 drone racing pilots (Frank Schroth, 25 October 2016)