BIRD 2026
Birmingham International Race Days
31st Jan & 1st Feb
Presented by
The best Tiny Whoop pilots from across the globe are all coming to Birmingham UK for a micro drone racing showdown like no other!
A party with a prize giving, this drone race puts the fun in FPV.
Who is going to take the glory this year?
The BIRD title has flown across the pond, but not without the most closely fought finals in BIRD history. Latvia's ReeFPV has his sights set on knocking Nightwing off the top spot. But will the UK be able to step up and win it back? With stiff competition from Italy, Germany, Poland and others, this year will no doubt be an incredible competition!
Gold Sponsors
MenaceRC live for all things FPV, going out of their way to support the community and our event. Check out their useful tips pages where you can find range calculators, how to guides and comparisons of tech.
At Menace RC you can buy parts, but they aren't only a shop. Greg and the team are innovators bringing limit stretching products like:
-
RC Pyrotrigger for all you naughty smokers out there
-
COB LED driver boards to easily integrate brilliant lights
-
Goggle anntenna packs which are great for gifts
Head over and see the full range of amazing products on offer for proper RC Menace's
Starting as gifts for friends, this husband and wife team has grown into a wonderfully playful and generous business, the whoop community loves!
You can get a custom Minifig to:
-
Commemorate a graduation or birthday
-
Surprise a comic book or film fan
-
Miniaturise a colleague for secret santa
But the best / worst kept secret is Nick's passion for microflight! You might have seen his RaceGOW whoop tour of the Minifigs workshop?
Nick has been supporting whoop clubs across the country and the world (!) and we are truly grateful for his support of BIRD
photography credit to Instagram's @robmachonweddings
Challenger Activities
Give It A Go
Get involved and hands on with our fantastic activities. You will be up and flying in no time exploring the world around you with micro-flight. Get a Challenger Ticket and join in the fun going from the surface to the skies. Complete the sheet and be entered into our MASSIVE prize draw competition where you can win a full FPV drone set!
BMFA Simulators
Fly like the pro's in our simulators hosted by the BMFA. Try your hand at drone racing, fixed wing, helicopters without the worry of breaking anything if you crash!
BDRA Hotlaps FPV Rides
Jump into the FPV goggles with the British Drone Racing Association BDRA. You can fly onboard, and see what the pilot see's as our racers tackle the BIRD track
Drone Soccer
Lets crash some drones with drone soccer! Try your hand at the latest and greatest drone sport fresh from Korea. Its all about football in the skies, a bit like techno-quidditch!
Whoop Hunt
Where's Whoop? Find all the hidden whoops dotted around BIRD to collect the set! Their tricky to find becasue they are Tiny Whoops!
MiniFig Test Pilots
Create your very on MiniFigs.Me test pilot and send them on a maiden drone flight. You'll be behind the controls so try not to crash as you take on the line of sight course!
Livestream
As always we will be bringing the whole world the action at this international event with our live stream.
Watch the racing action all the way from qualifying, to the finals and award ceremony and share in the multi-colour madness of BIRD from the comfort of your armchair
Look forward to:
- Interviews with some of the top pilots
- Pit walks to see the hot tech being used
- Showcase flights from drones and fixed wings
- Racing drama as it unfolds
- Technology up and coming in the drone world
- Competitions & oppotunities to get involved
Qualifying Day
Live Stream - 31st Jan 2026 from 08:30am GMT
48 of the top pilots from across the world descend on Birmingham for the biggest competition in tiny flight the UK has ever seen! Randomly assigned to a qualification group, they will be racing for their best qualifying times, ready for tomorrows finals. Join us on the live stream to follow the action as they compete for one of the limited spaces in the 3 finals classes;
Hobbyist, Advanced, Elite
-
09:00 Group A Qualification
-
13:00 Group B Qualification
-
17:00 Group C Qualification
-
20:00 Qualification Ends
Finals Day
Live Stream - 1st Feb 2026 from 08:30am GMT
This is where we find out who will take glory at BIRD 2026! Everyone has been qualified into 3 classes and now they battle for top spot in our Double Elimination Finals with a Chase the Ace finale.
-
09:00 Hobbyist warm-up
-
09:30 Hobbyist Class Finals
-
12:00 Advanced warm-up
-
12:30 Advanced Class Finals
-
17:00 Elite warm-up
-
17:30 Elite Class Finals
-
19:00 Award Ceremony
Spectator Attractions
Enjoy watching the top pilots perform some fantastic racing on our LED track, but also don't miss out on everything else in our fun festival of FPV Flying.
BluePrint3D Parts
Resident 3D Printing specialist that moonlights as our race director has brought along his latest 3D print creations. So much can be made with a 3D printer but if you don't have one, have a chat with BluePrint3D who can create anyhting you can dream of!
Pilots Lounge
Here you can meet the worlds biggest names in tiny flight. Find your local whoop group and get the inside scoop on the kit in the pits so you can pick your next Whoop!
Disco Lights
Tiny Whoops are... Tiny! So they will all be decked out in Disco Lights so you can see them streak through the air. Of course they will be flying around an incredible LED lit up track, all surrounded in disco lights and bright colours!
Team Dress Up
With a long history of dressing up and being a bit silly, you can get involved and cheer for your favourite team! Don the colours, catch a pokemon, its morphing time rangers! The best dressed will win prizes as voted by everyone watching!
Menace RC
The Best of British suppliers and innovators to the FPV and Drone racing world, Menace RC has brought a huge stock of high quality components and parts for your next ripping drone!
Silver Sponsors
Ticket Types
BCU
Birmingham City University
BIRD Game
Did you know this wonderful group of student at BCU designed a fully working drone racing simulator game in just 12 weeks bespoke for BIRD!
Isabel Hampton - Group leader
Ryan Goodyear - Unity
Sum Yuet Chan - Unity
Qaiser Mehmood - Unity
Weiyi Li - Website
You can even score yourself a discount
on your challenger tickets by taking part!
Supporter Sponsors
Where Is BIRD?
Opening Hours
Saturday 31st Jan
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday 1st Feb
9:00 am – 6:00 pm