The APOGEE English Press managed to get a hold of Vibgyor Singhvi, coordinator of the Radio Control (RC) Club, for a quick chat about the upcoming fest.

While talking about the RC Club, Vibgyor spoke about how the club is all about “working with bleeding edge technology, while also having fun and just enjoying flying and crashing planes and drones”.

When asked about the club’s workload, Vibgyor mentioned that the CoSTAA had already initiated its meetings in the previous semester, which provided the club enough time to plan its course of action. He also explained that the club had been actively trying to proceed with their work at a slow, but steady pace throughout the year, thus managing to avoid any last-minute workload.

Vibgyor went on to mention how the club’s strength had been dwindling since the pre-pandemic years. As a club that was heavily dependent on the transfer of knowledge from seniors to the juniors, the pandemic had worsened the situation. However, he felt that the pandemic also helped the club to step into new avenues like flight simulation, research and programming, which are now gradually becoming a part of the club’s expertise.

While talking about the challenges the RC Club faced in the days leading up to APOGEE, Vibgyor explained how the club tried to experiment and do something new with micro-drones, however could not follow up, due to certain technical difficulties. However he also stated that the club had been gradually increasing its strength in numbers and experience, and felt assured that the club would be able to manage the fest without any prominent hiccups.

The club will be organising multiple events this APOGEE, the major ones being ‘IDRL Drone Racing’ and ‘SkyHigh’.

‘IDRL Drone Racing’, as suggested by its name, is an event where acclaimed drone pilots from all over the country will race the drones designed by the club through an obstacle course. The pilots will also be able to interact with the drone enthusiasts from among the students.

‘SkyHigh’ will be an opportunity for the students to make their own model aeroplanes, which will then be fitted with electrical machinery by the club, and made ready to fly. Participants that would be able to fly their planes better than their counterparts shall be declared the winners.

According to Vibgyor, “Despite the events being organised by the club not being directly related to the theme ‘A Hivemind Genesis’, the allegory of bees working in unison is an accurate depiction of his club members.” He also talked about the message about the importance of hardwork, which in his opinion, the theme tried to convey to the prospective participants.

Vibgyor mentioned how his fellow members had been “pretty phenomenal”, as he lauded them for being technically capable, as well as self-sufficient enough to make key decisions in his absence. He also told us about how each and every member is passionate about building things, while reiterating the point about the workload being minimal due to the consistent efforts the club made throughout the year. 

While talking about his expectations from this APOGEE, Vibgyor encouraged every BITSian to learn something from the variety of events that will be organised in APOGEE, while also telling us about the talks by various speakers and filmmakers about their work that he looks forward to. Vibgyor concluded the interview by stating that the club will always try to engage with the community and enthusiasts, and that he looks forward to their participation in the club’s events during and after APOGEE.