A five-day drone racing championship wrapped up Sunday at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, where 32 pilots from 27 countries pushed self-built craft through tight, obstacle-packed courses in a precision sprint. The contest ran under the banner of Teknofest, Turkey’s flagship aerospace and technology festival, designed to showcase engineering talent and pull young people toward science and industry. The backdrop is Turkey’s rapid build-out in unmanned aviation, which has drawn international attention to locally produced drones and the skills pipeline behind them. By finishing at a former international hub turned tech arena, the races doubled as a recruiting poster: high-energy sport, real engineering, and a clear runway from hobbyist tinkering to industry. For officials and sponsors, that synthesis—spectacle plus skills—is the point of Teknofest.