Simulators and practice gates: what the bodies say, and what they do not.

A simulator lets a pilot fly a virtual drone on a computer, and practice gates turn a field into a course. The AMA recommends novices consider a simulator, MultiGP and the FAI run races in them, and the FAI and MultiGP publish gate rules. This guide sets out what each says, and what none of it replaces. See also how people learn.

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Fly within the rules

This page explains what aviation authorities, model-aircraft associations, racing bodies and researchers publish. It is not legal advice and not a substitute for your aviation authority's own rules, a club safety officer or proper training.

Simulators, as bodies describe them

The AMA (Document 550, updated 3 March 2021): recommends that novice FPV pilots consider a cockpit-view flight simulator. The same document says AMA FPV novices must first be able to fly their aircraft without FPV, and describes a novice as a member learning FPV with an experienced AMA RC pilot who instructs and acts as spotter.
MultiGP (home page and class page, read 30 October 2026): names Velocidrone as its official drone racing simulator and runs an E-Sport class raced in it. MultiGP's Rule Book was not read.
The FAI: runs an e-Drone Racing World Cup in a simulator, with a ranking kept separate from the outdoor F9U World Cup. The FAI reported that the 2024 season, the first, had five events and 140 pilots from 40 countries, all flying the same drone model. For 2025 the FAI said pilots raced from home with a game controller on a Windows computer, all on one standard drone model, over seven events. See the FAI World Cup.
The Drone Racing League: The Ringer reported in 2018 that the DRL's simulator was released on Steam in June 2017 and that the league held an annual tryout using it, which Wikipedia also records. The DRL's current status rests on Wikipedia alone and is unconfirmed; see the Drone Racing League.

This site's research did not cover whether simulator practice carries over to flying a real drone, so no such claim is made here. Simulator names appear only as the organisers name them; no simulator is recommended over another.

What a simulator is not

A simulator is not one of the tests or certificates the authorities covered here set, and it does not replace one. Each is set within its own jurisdiction:

Jurisdiction	Test or certificate the authority requires
United States	Recreational flyers pass the aeronautical knowledge and safety test under 49 U.S.C. 44809(a)(7) and (g), known as TRUST (that name rests on an FAA page title seen only in a search result), and keep proof of passing
United Kingdom	A Flyer ID, from the CAA's online theory test, for drones and model aircraft of 100 g or more (CAP2320, March 2026)
European Union	Online training and an online theory exam for C1, C3 and C4 drones and for privately built and legacy drones over 250 g, with a further exam for A2 (EASA)
Canada	The RPAS Basic Operations examination (age 14) or the Advanced Operations examination and a flight review (age 16) for Transport Canada pilot certificates (TC AIM, 19 March 2026)
Australia	For MAAA members flying FPV, the MAAA's own "Wings" proficiency standards under MOP066 (19 August 2019), an association scheme within CASA's approval; CASA's own pages could not be reached

Practice gates and courses

Racing bodies publish gate and obstacle rules for their own races. They describe race courses; none is a rule for a practice field, and setting up a course does not change where flying is allowed.

FAI F9U (Volume F9, 2025 edition, Annex C.1; a 2026 edition exists and was not read, its effective date reported as 1 January 2026 and as 1 June 2026): obstacles to be flown through, such as air gates and tunnels, must leave at least 1.5 m of free space on the optimal path, and obstacles to be flown around need at least 2.5 m. The FAI does not recommend small gates because of the collision risk. Obstacles must stand out clearly through a standard FPV video picture at 30 m, and organisers should make reasonable efforts to use shock-absorbing materials.
MultiGP (class page and track guide, read 30 October 2026): the class page gives gate openings by class, including 5 by 5 feet for Open, 30 by 30 inches for Whoop, 42 square feet for 7-inch and 12 by 12 feet for Mega. Its track and build guide allows gates up to 7 feet wide by 6 feet tall and sets flags at least 8 feet high, so MultiGP's two pages differ on the Open gate.

Where a course is flown, the rules on visual line of sight, observers and distance from people still come from the authority, and association codes add their own: the AMA's National Model Aircraft Safety Code (effective 1 January 2018), for example, calls for an established safety line separating flying from spectators. See race safety rules.

Our picks by category

PICK 1

FPV simulators

Simulator software flown on a computer. MultiGP's E-Sport class and the FAI's e-Drone Racing World Cup are both raced in simulators; each names the simulator its races use. A simulator is not one of the tests the authorities covered here set.

Best for: Novices, as the AMA suggests, and pilots entering simulator races

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PICK 2

Racing gates

Gates and flags for practice courses. For comparison, the FAI's 2025 edition calls for at least 1.5 m of free space through a gate and does not recommend small gates, and MultiGP's class page gives 5 by 5 feet for an Open gate and 30 by 30 inches for a Whoop gate. Nothing about a gate makes a site suitable to fly; the authority's rules decide.

Best for: Pilots setting up a practice course where flying is allowed

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Sources

Keep reading

How people learn

The knowledge tests and certificates each aviation authority requires, country by country; the AMA's FPV novice and spotter rules, the BMFA Achievement Scheme with its FPV extension, MAAC's FPV documents and the MAAA's Wings; and simulators as organisers name them.

Beginner FPV kit

What decides a first FPV kit: each country's rules on goggles, observers and weight, the FAI and MultiGP class limits if you race, association rules, and picks by category.

How a race works

The FAI F9U circuit, the safety line, qualifying methods, elimination brackets, the start procedure, electronic timing, crashes, restarts and disqualifications, with MultiGP's track guide kept separate.