The next wave in water sports

Drones have brought exciting new camera angles to sports coverage and even led to the development of the new sport of drone racing. Now, as a farewell to the summer, Seattle-based Freefly Systems has enlisted one of its drones for dronesurfing, a new take on kitesurfing where the kite pulling the rider across the water is replaced by a drone.

Even with a running start, pulling someone on a board across the surface of the water – even if that water is still and calm – requires more horsepower than the average consumer drone can put out. That's why Freefly used its Alta 8 octocopter, which is built to carry professional camera equipment weighing up to 12 kg (26.4 lb).