AMA Air spotlights MultiGP International Open as summer drone-racing anchor

The MultiGP International Open is no longer just another stop on the FPV calendar. AMA Air’s June 8 episode, with Matt Ruddick and Lee Ray previewing the summer at the International Aeromodeling Center, put the Muncie race alongside the AMA National Fun Fly and the 2026 National Aeromodeling Championships and made clear this is now the season’s first true benchmark.

The Open runs June 10-14 at AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana, and the scale is what gives it weight. AMA and MultiGP said 200 drone pilots from 13 countries are entered, eight racing tracks are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., spectator admission is free, all ages are welcome and the World Cup finals are set for Saturday at 6 p.m.

That format changes the competitive test. In a sport built on speed, precision and control, a five-day event with multiple tracks rewards more than one fast run. Pilots have to stay sharp across different layouts, manage pressure over a long weekend and keep pace in front of a public crowd that can watch the action all day.

The Open also carries the weight of the league behind it. MultiGP says it is the largest professional drone racing league in the world, with more than 30,000 registered pilots and 500 active chapters worldwide, and the International Open 2026 sits on its main events calendar. That makes Muncie a gathering point for the sport’s core competitors, not just a regional stop.

The venue itself has already become part of the story. AMA reported in June 2024 that the International Aeromodeling Center hosted one of the largest drone racing events in the world, and MultiGP called the 2025 International Open at AMA Headquarters the biggest FPV drone racing event on Earth. Add the National Electric Fun Fly, the Nats and an FAI World Championship for Aerobatic Model Aircraft to the same summer campus, and Muncie looks less like a one-off host site than a template for how model aviation stages major events.

That is why the June 8 AMA Air segment matters beyond a routine preview. The International Open now stands as the summer’s first hard signal of how deep the field is, how international the sport has become and how much fans can expect drone racing to look and feel like a festival-level championship weekend.