19-year-old Alex Vanover got his start in RC here at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and is now winning world championships racing drones.
“It’s a dream come true [to come to Oshkosh]. I’ve been here for nine years straight now. The year that I got really serious about flying, my mom brought me up here when I was 10 years old, and that’s actually how I got my start in RC,” Alex said. “I bought my very first airplane in Hangar A from these guys [Horizon Hobby/Hobby Town] and now I’m here working for them [this year at their booth], so it’s crazy that I got my whole start in RC, which led to drone racing.”
Alex first got into aviation and drones when he was 8 years old and came across Flight Simulator X. One day, Alex’s mom decided to take him to a local airport for breakfast, where he met a gentleman who was gracious enough to give Alex his first airplane ride. And from there, Alex was hooked.
“I got my private pilot’s license when I was 17 in 2017,” Alex said. “Honestly, when I was doing the drones, I was super motivated to fly fast and to practice hard. Quite honestly without that [drones], I wouldn’t have had that final discipline to finish out my pilot’s license and to make that final push, because I was 17 years old and sitting down and hitting the books and preparing for an oral and checkride, and everything is not fun, especially juggling high school. That discipline in drone racing to push harder and to go faster, that translated over and motivated me to do the same thing when it comes to real airplanes, and that helped me so much when it came to getting my pilot’s license.”
Alex has since then raced drones professionally all across the world. When he was 17 years old in 2017, he won his first national championship at the Reno Air Races. Just this last fall, Alex won his first world championship in Korea.
Alex’s dream came true this year, as he joined the Drone Racing League. “I had been waiting to get on DRL for a very long time and when I saw drone racing appear it was because of DRL,” Alex said. “I saw that drone racing was not just a hobby; it was an actual sport that was growing. So I did my best for years to get on, and I finally got on here for the 2019 season.”
DRL is the global, professional drone racing circuit for elite pilots. “With custom-built racing drones traveling at speeds above 90 mph, pilots race FPV (First Person View) through the most insane three-dimensional courses ever created outside of a video game.”
Alex said he looks forward to coming to EAA AirVenture every year to watch the air show and seeing guys like Sean Tucker perform. “To be here at EAA is kind of a reminder that, in a sense, without being here I wouldn’t have really gotten into drones,” Alex said. “This is where I got my start … and just kind of breathing in aviation; anyone who is into flying just loves the smell of AV gas and loves the sound of props and jet engines, and for me it just never gets old.”
Alex is currently preparing for a live race in front of 7,000 audience members in Phoenix, Arizona, with DRL.