Gemfan launches Minjae Kim signature prop for tight FPV race tracks

Tight FPV tracks are where a prop either saves laps or gives them away. Gemfan’s new 5129.2 x Minjae Signature Racing Propeller is built for exactly that fight, a 5-inch blade meant to sharpen corner exits and keep the drone stable from gate to gate instead of chasing brute-force straight-line speed.

Gemfan launched the prop on April 21 and branded it the “Control Beast,” framing it as a tool for high-difficulty courses with continuous gates. The company says the design was co-developed with Korean elite pilot Minjae Kim and trimmed 10 percent off the weight of conventional racing propellers, a change that matters because less rotational inertia usually means quicker steering response and a cleaner feel when a pilot snaps the drone into the next turn.

That is the real selling point here. FAI describes drone racing as multi-rotor aircraft flying together through a closed circuit with air gates and obstacles, and says championship tracks can stretch to a developed length of 725 meters. On layouts like that, time is rarely won by endless throttle alone. It is won by the drone that exits a turn without bleeding momentum and threads the next gate with less correction from the pilot.

Gemfan is leaning hard on Minjae Kim’s record to make that case. FAI lists him as born in 2008 and part of Kinetico (Wukong), with a résumé that already includes FAI Drone Racing World Cup junior champion, overall champion twice, junior champion at the FAI World Drone Racing Championships, and two fourth-place overall finishes. He started racing in 2018 after his mother suggested the sport to him, and his rise has not slowed. At The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, FAI reported his average lap time in qualifying at 22.653 seconds, 2.6 seconds faster than Yuki Hashimoto’s 25.293, a gap that shows how much one pilot can separate himself when the course rewards precision.

The prop itself is a serious bit of hardware, not just a signature sticker. Gemfan’s product page lists PC material, a 2.92-inch pitch, 130.3 mm diameter, 4.12 g weight, a 5 mm center hole, 14.9 mm max width and 6.2 mm center thickness, with a recommended motor size of 2207 and a takeoff weight of 500 g. That is a setup aimed at pilots who want a sharper, more controlled front end on technical race day.

Gemfan has also said Minjae Kim won the DCL Super Final in 2023 and added eight DRA championship titles plus the 2025 Season MVP award. Put all of that together, and the 5129.2 x Minjae Signature reads less like a branding exercise than a niche weapon for the kind of tracks where milliseconds are won in the middle of the turn, not at full throttle on the straight.