Sweden’s SDC RD1 Avesta lands on national drone-racing calendar

Avesta moved onto Sweden’s drone-racing map as a championship round, not a club one-off. Svenska Flygsportförbundet listed SDC RD1 Avesta as an F9U Drone racing event under Svenska mästerskap, and that designation changed the stakes immediately: every licensed pilot on the grid was chasing points in a national title chase where only the three best results count.

That matters because Sweden’s championship structure is built for accumulation, not one big final. The 2025 F9U rules set the Swedish championship as a cup with at least six rounds, with the full season count published alongside the first-round invitation and the champion decided by the sum of each racer’s three best results. In practical terms, Avesta opened a season where one mistake would not end a title bid, but a clean early score could shape the entire campaign.

The Avesta notice, posted April 24, also showed how formal the weekend was. The organizer application deadline stayed open until April 29, which meant the federation was still locking in hosting details even as the round was already on the calendar. On Dronecup.se, Rembo RC welcomed competitors to RD1 on April 25 at Avesta Flygfält, with check-in at 08:45, a pilot meeting and track-walk at 09:15, qualifiers starting at 09:30, lunch at noon, qualifying resuming at 12:30 and finals scheduled for 14:30.

The technical frame was just as specific. All competitors needed a license, the protest fee was set at 500 kronor and the equipment limits capped pilots at 6-cell batteries and 6-inch propellers. That is the kind of rule set that rewards efficient power management and disciplined racecraft more than brute-force speed, especially on a layout where a tight first lap can decide qualifying seed and lane choice.

Avesta also sat inside a broader national pathway. Swedish Drone Cup says SDC is Svenska Modellflygförbundet’s cup series for drone racing, Sweden’s SM organization for drönarracing, and the official communication channel for the series. It also selects Sweden’s national team, so the same round that feeds the 2026 standings can influence who stays in the national conversation.

The field still carried familiar names. Svenska Flygsportförbundet’s champions page lists Tim Fredriksson as the 2025 F9U/Drone Race champion, David Modig as the 2023 champion and Oscar Nilsson as the 2022, 2021 and 2020 champion. Fredrik Tibbling, the SDC convenor and F9U specialist, anchors the steering group, while Lars Hjorth serves as CIAM representative for F9U. With six rounds on the 2026 calendar, from Avesta through Karlskoga, Göteborg, Örebro, Nykvarn and Nynäshamn, the title race already had shape before the first gate drop.