Ucom boosts teen FPV drone training with hands-on class, contest

Soldering irons, software menus and compact Mini Whoops gave Armenian teenagers a full FPV starting line, not just a demo. At a free open class on April 16, Ucom and the ArmDrone community put the basics of drone racing on the table in one session, with software work, component soldering, indoor flying and a short virtual contest all built into the day.

The event had real organizational weight. Ucom General Director Ralph Yirikian attended, signaling that the program was being treated as a youth-tech pipeline rather than a one-off outreach stop. ArmDrone founder Hayk Karapetyan said the courses were meant to deepen interest in technology fields and strengthen the community around young pilots, and the format matched that goal. Teenagers handled the technical side of FPV first, then moved into flight, a sequence that mirrors what competitive pilots need when race day arrives: goggles, setup, configuration, safety and discipline under pressure.

That structure matters because FPV racing is expensive to enter and difficult to learn casually. By making the training free, Ucom and ArmDrone removed the first barriers that usually keep newcomers out: equipment cost, technical setup and coaching. The open class showed how the pathway works from the ground up. Participants worked with software, soldered drone components, flew Mini Whoop drones indoors and watched larger drones in flight before taking part in a virtual contest. For a sport built on precision and reaction time, that mix of building and flying is as important as raw speed.

The Armenian model is becoming more formal. ArmDrone, founded in 2022, says its mission is to build an educational and sporting FPV ecosystem in Armenia and develop internationally recognized drone racing while training qualified specialists. Ucom and ArmDrone first mapped out that pipeline in July 2025 with a one-month free FPV program for 12- to 15-year-olds, limited to 15 participants, ending with certificates and invitations for top performers to join ArmDrone’s competitive team and possibly represent Armenia internationally. Ucom later said those students passed theoretical and practical exams and completed the course.

That ladder already has a race-day record. On May 25, 2025, Ucom-backed Mini Whoop Drone Racing 2025 drew more than 40 participants ages 11 to 60 from Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan at the Gazprom Armenia Educational and Sports Complex in Yerevan. Ucom said around 100 new students joined ArmDrone after earlier races, while Karapetyan said participation nearly tripled in 2025. The message from the latest open class was clear: Armenia is no longer just teaching kids to fly drones, it is trying to build the country’s next competitive racers from the first solder joint to the first lap.