After a series of successes in local races, it was time to test ourselves at something more serious. The event organised by the AirCrasher crew in Aichtal near Stuttgart is one of the largest annual FPV competitions in Europe, attracting the top of the world ranking – and this year was no exception: Yuki Hashimoto from Japan, Killian Rousseau from France, Marvin Schäpper from Luxembourg, Dimo „Burkan” Shterev from Bulgaria – to name just a few.
For Stachu, these were his first „serious” competitions – not so much about fighting for a podium as about going up against the best and seeing where he stands in that field.
We headed to the event right after the 8th-grade final exams – Stachu’s last exam (English) was on Wednesday, May 13. The same day we set off from home, arriving in Aichtal on Thursday morning. The three of us travelled: Stachu, myself, and Stachu’s mum Edyta. On site we met up with pilots we’re friends with from our region – Poland (Mroowa, BlueWolf, Tisha), Slovakia (TimurFPV, Fen1X_FPV, Roc_FPV), Czech Republic (SpaglFPV, Gagin), and PenPen (Chinese, currently based in Austria).
Over four days, six separate competitions were held; Stachu took part in all of them except the 40+ category. Below are the detailed results – each section covers the format first, then qualifying, then the finals.
MultiGP Global Qualifier
This is an unusual format in that the MultiGP GQ track is standardised – chosen at the start of the year and then flown at every event of the series worldwide for the rest of the season. Times from different events are directly comparable, and a global ranking is built from them, with the top 16 pilots advancing to the MultiGP finals.
Pilots flew in groups of 6, but only individual times counted – the best 3 consecutive laps. The competition was held in three batches; Stachu flew in Batch 3. The ranking below is a merged classification of all three batches (92 pilots in total):
| Position | Pilot | Best 3 consecutive laps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BURKAN | 0:28.390 |
| 2 | PASTIS | 0:28.740 |
| 3 | KillianFPV | 0:28.760 |
| 23 | Stachu | 0:32.513 |
| 24 | Gagin | 0:32.642 |
| 27 | Roc_FPV | 0:33.147 |
| 30 | SpaglFPV | 0:33.813 |
| 35 | TimurFPV | 0:35.646 |
| 38 | PenPen | 0:36.466 |
| 39 | Tisha | 0:36.376 |
| 40 | Mroowa | 0:36.718 |
| 41 | Fen1X_FPV | 0:37.239 |
| 43 | BlueWolf | 0:38.019 |
Street League
A very different type of racing – larger drones, 7” props (instead of the standard 5”), a minimum weight of 1280 g (a typical 5” racer weighs under 500 g) and limited motor RPM. Stachu calls them „flying bricks” – they fly heavy, slow, and precision matters more than reflexes. The track was the same as the one used later for DCS/FAI, but flown along a different line. The laps were shorter, but pilots had to fly 8 of them. 22 pilots competed. Format: time-based qualifying + double elimination bracket.
Throughout qualifying and the brackets, Stachu had video reception issues caused by a weak antenna installed on the drone, which translated into a relatively poor result. Lack of Street League experience didn’t help either.
Qualifying (22 pilots)
| Position | Pilot | 8-lap time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KillianFPV | 1:32.793 |
| 2 | Super_Ewen | 1:39.617 |
| 3 | FenoMan | 1:39.958 |
| 9 | Tisha | 1:48.342 |
| 11 | Mroowa | 1:49.581 |
| 14 | Stachu | 1:55.977 |
| 15 | BlueWolf | 1:56.068 |
Final results
| Position | Pilot |
|---|---|
| 1 | KillianFPV |
| 2 | Fenoman |
| 3 | CrysonFPV |
| 5 | Tisha |
| 9 | Mroowa |
| 14 | BlueWolf |
| 19 | Stachu |
The remaining pilots from the group of friends did not enter Street League.
DCS1
The DCS format is an open competition similar to typical Velocidrone races – using a so-called „bump-up” system.
In qualifying, the best 3 consecutive laps count. In the brackets, pilots are grouped by 4 according to their qualifying position (with a split into even-numbered and odd-numbered groups), with the bottom groups containing up to 7 pilots. The races start with the lowest groups, 4 laps each; the top 3 advance one group up, where they join the 4 pilots seeded into that group based on their qualifying time – making each group 7 pilots: 4 seeded directly and 3 advancing from below. The final is a head-to-head between the top 3 from the highest even-numbered group and the top 3 from the highest odd-numbered group.
DCS1 and DCS2 are two independent, identical tournaments (separate qualifying and finals) – so each pilot gets two shots.
DCS1 Qualifying (95 pilots)
| Position | Pilot | Best 3 consecutive laps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuki | 0:32.833 |
| 2 | ChengGuoFPV | 0:33.735 |
| 3 | KillianFPV | 0:34.115 |
| 22 | Stachu | 0:39.520 |
| 23 | Gagin | 0:39.649 |
| 36 | Roc_FPV | 0:43.374 |
| 37 | Mroowa | 0:43.463 |
| 41 | TimurFPV | 0:44.436 |
| 42 | SpaglFPV | 0:44.614 |
| 50 | PenPen | 0:46.978 |
| 51 | Tisha | 0:47.028 |
| 55 | BlueWolf | 0:48.409 |
| 56 | Fen1X_FPV | 0:49.290 |
DCS1 Finals
Stachu entered the 1/8 bracket and on his first run finished 3rd – but the joy of advancing was short-lived: with rain starting during the race, the race directors decided to re-run it. The re-run didn’t go as well – a crash on lap 3, 5th place in the race and ultimately 27th overall.
| Position | Pilot |
|---|---|
| 1 | Marv_FPV |
| 2 | KillianFPV |
| 3 | ChengGuoFPV |
| 18 | Gagin |
| 27 | Stachu |
| 35 | SpaglFPV |
| 42 | Tisha |
| 43 | Mroowa |
| 45 | Roc_FPV |
| 50 | PenPen |
| 52 | TimurFPV |
| 55 | Fen1X_FPV |
| 61 | BlueWolf |
DCS2
The second DCS tournament – same format.
DCS2 Qualifying (96 pilots)
| Position | Pilot | Best 3 consecutive laps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuki | 0:31.552 |
| 2 | Marv_FPV | 0:33.031 |
| 3 | KillianFPV | 0:33.383 |
| 21 | Stachu | 0:38.437 |
| 22 | Gagin | 0:38.630 |
| 32 | Roc_FPV | 0:41.640 |
| 41 | Mroowa | 0:45.585 |
| 43 | Tisha | 0:45.769 |
| 45 | Fen1X_FPV | 0:45.982 |
| 49 | SpaglFPV | 0:47.236 |
| 50 | PenPen | 0:47.256 |
| 51 | TimurFPV | 0:47.307 |
| 54 | BlueWolf | 0:48.182 |
DCS2 Finals
This time Stachu also started in the 1/8 group, where he confidently took 2nd place and advanced to the 1/4 group. By that point, however, he was flying his last remaining quad, and in the next race he crashed on the first lap. He ultimately finished the event in 22nd place.
| Position | Pilot |
|---|---|
| 1 | Yuki |
| 2 | KillianFPV |
| 3 | ChengGuoFPV |
| 22 | Stachu |
| 23 | Gagin |
| 33 | Mroowa |
| 35 | Roc_FPV |
| 49 | Fen1X_FPV |
| 51 | Tisha |
| 55 | BlueWolf |
| 58 | TimurFPV |
| 62 | SpaglFPV |
FAI
An event held under the auspices of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale – the body responsible for international aviation sport, including world championships and the World Cup series, to which the FAI race at AirCrasher Aichtal belongs. The most prestigious event of the whole weekend.
FAI Qualifying (95 pilots)
Three rounds were flown, with the total time of the best 3 consecutive laps deciding the standings. The top 32 advanced to the finals – Stachu, finishing 20th, secured his place comfortably. From our group, Gagin and Roc_FPV also advanced – the latter quite luckily landing on the 32nd spot, while TimurFPV unfortunately missed the cut at 33rd.
| Position | Pilot | Best 3 consecutive laps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuki | 0:33.991 |
| 2 | KillianFPV | 0:34.869 |
| 3 | CrysonFPV | 0:34.954 |
| 20 | Stachu | 0:39.735 |
| 21 | Gagin | 0:39.830 |
| 32 | Roc_FPV | 0:42.357 |
| 33 | TimurFPV | 0:43.023 |
| 35 | PenPen | 0:43.191 |
| 41 | SpaglFPV | 0:44.148 |
| 44 | Mroowa | 0:45.065 |
| 46 | Tisha | 0:48.406 |
| 51 | Fen1X_FPV | 0:49.689 |
| 58 | BlueWolf | 0:53.015 |
FAI Finals
The day of the FAI finals started off rather unluckily – during a warm-up round just before the brackets, Stachu’s best drone caught fire on the starting line. Losing his key piece of equipment right before the most important race of the weekend made the subsequent runs significantly harder.
Flying less well-tuned drones in the brackets, Stachu ended up crashing twice and finishing 4th in his group on both occasions, dropping to 32nd in the overall final standings.
| Position | Pilot |
|---|---|
| 1 | Marv_FPV |
| 2 | YJCFPV |
| 3 | Fenoman |
| 27 | Roc_FPV |
| 30 | Gagin |
| 32 | Stachu |
| 33 | TimurFPV |
| 41 | SpaglFPV |
| 44 | Mroowa |
| 46 | Tisha |
| 51 | Fen1X_FPV |
| 58 | BlueWolf |
Event DVR
DVR from the whole event, edited by Stachu:
Chapter breakdown:
- 0:00 – Day 1: MultiGP GQ
- 0:58 – Day 2 (1/2): FAI practice
- 1:45 – Day 2 (2/2): Street League
- 2:40 – Day 3 (1/4): DCS1 quali
- 3:26 – Day 3 (2/4): FAI quali
- 4:12 – Day 3 (3/4): DCS1 finals
- 5:19 – Day 3 (4/4): DCS2 quali
- 6:08 – Day 4 (intro): Best drone goes up in flames XD
- 6:15 – Day 4 (1/2): FAI finals
- 6:51 – Day 4 (2/2): DCS2 finals
Summary
Four days, six events, around a hundred pilots from across the world in the main competitions. Throughout the weekend, Stachu held around 20th place, usually finishing as the fastest pilot from our regional group – with the exception of Street League and the rather unlucky FAI finals.
It was also a chance to watch the very top – Yuki, Killian, Marvin, Burkan – up close, and to talk to some of them. The lessons learned will certainly come in handy when preparing for the next big races.
We came home with a bag of broken drones and a fistful of experience hard to get at local races. See you at Aichtal 2027.