Drone Pilots Turn Abandoned Buildings Into Art

Where some might see an abandoned building, many drone pilots see an opportunity.

There has been an increasing trend in the FPV (first-person view) drone community to fly fast racing drones through tight spaces of abandoned buildings of all shapes and sizes. These desolate buildings are commonly referred to in the drone world as “bandos.” 

Pilots that fly in these buildings have cameras on their drones that transmit the video to a set of goggles worn by the pilot. That allows them to fly through abandoned buildings — under old staircases, through empty windows and between other tight objects — all while remaining stationed safely on the ground.

These types of abandoned buildings can range from a former mental asylum to the hulls of old airplanes to closed-up hotels or shopping malls. The appeal for many pilots is the opportunity to fly in a challenging and unique location — and also one that is free from other people.

Abandoned buildings often get a bad reputation and often get spray painted with graffiti long after the inhabitants of the building have left. For FPV pilots, though, that just adds to the charm of certain “bandos.”

It’s not just abandoned buildings that make for FPV playgrounds. Abandoned water parks are another popular spot for these pilots to fly as they turn an empty space into their canvas. Many pilots say their favorite spots to fly are abandoned buildings.

Even though they often provide some challenging features, abandoned buildings seem to be a preferred flying location for pilots of all skill levels. That includes Trevor Bauer, a pitcher for Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians. Bauer brings his custom drones on the road with him during the season, and prefers to fly at abandoned buildings whenever he has a chance.

Some of the best videos of abandoned buildings can be found on AirVuz.com as part of a curated collection of videos hand-selected by AirV?z’s staff. AirV?z also hosts many more FPV video collections featuring the work of pilots from all over the world.

For more information, contact Tyler Mason, Director of Public Relations, at tyler@airvuz.com.

About AirV?z

Since its launch in 2015, AirV?z has become the world’s leading drone video and photography sharing platform and global community for drone pilots and aerial media enthusiasts. Drone enthusiasts worldwide can upload and share videos and photos in unlimited quantity and at no cost. Site users have free access to an ever-growing library of drone media content including easily browsable curated collections grouped into easy-to-navigate groupings such as Countries, Landmarks, People, Regions, and Transportation.  AirV?z users also have access to original AirV?z content, including AirV?z News coverage of the drone industry, profiles of top content creators, product reviews, and how-to information for drone pilots on how to take and edit high quality drone video.