Drones are a large part of what Checkerboard is these days and we did not want to just cater to drone racers, but to make the park open for freestylers and people wanting more diverse obstacles and fun challenges.  Along with other race style elements, we’re slowly building out more FREESTYLE specific obstacles that will make this an even more appealing place to spend your hobby time.

We therefore started work on some obstacles to achieve this.  We started with a double dive gate that was 16 feet high made of 3/4-inch conduit that was 8 feet square.  Unfortunately, this only lasted a week and quickly toppled due to the flimsy nature of the conduit and some large winds.

Clearly, we needed to take it to the next level.   A lot of research later, we found out that it was going to cost some serious money to get a large obstacle up.   We opened this up to a “GoFundMe” and Checkerboard members as well as the large FPV community came together and was able to raise $825 of the $1000 required to build it.  The rest was donated by anonymous donors interested in promoting Checkerboard and the sport in general.  This is a sign of how engaged the community is and the popularity of drones is growing.

Long story short…sourcing parts from 4 online stores and the used Facebook market …600 pounds of 12-foot 1.5-inch conduit 20 heavy duty corner connectors, some heavy-duty rope and gate mesh, the project was on.  

It took no less than 12 volunteers to build and, as a team, stand up the “Super Double Dive Gate” The obstacle is 25’ high with 2 downward facing gates in the middle.  This presents a challenging obstacle for both racers and freestylers trying to perfect their craft.  The race held at the field on 8/14 included the double dive gate and was the most fun course the racers had experienced.

This helps make Checkerboard special in the Chicagoland area and really the entire United States.  I have heard of no other club on public grounds that keeps gates up with such a large obstacle.

Checkerboard looks forward to future milestones to increase the enjoyment of our hobby and the value that Checkerboard brings to the community.