Student Buzz

Drone racing in China

by Sam Heeps, Year 12

Most recently, I was invited to attend the 2019 StarMach Pan Asian Drone Racing Exhibition Championship held in Ningbo, south east China. For the last few years, and since the development of my Personal Project in Year 10, I have been competing in high-speed Drone Racing competitions both locally and internationally (namely a televised race in Korea in 2018).

This year’s exhibition was a great way to reconnect with people I’ve met previously and to experience a new culture as I’ve never been to China before. The event was held around a type of ‘industry development’ forum, right in the centre of the Ningbo CBD and offered presentations from product vendors and also the large drone racing event management group Multi GP. Two of my friends and I represented Australia - Thomas Bitmatta, one of the world’s best, and Drone Nationals winner, Daniel Ayre (from Victoria and NSW respectively).

Throughout the course of the three-day race, I was lucky enough to qualify in the top ten of some of the best drone pilots from around the world, however a little bit of bad luck came my way as we advanced through the brackets of the top 16! It was still an absolutely unforgettable experience and I hope to compete at more events in the future.

Coming from a video game background, I think that Drone Racing is a really great sport to get into as it combines skills of electronics, physics and engineering, with its first-person perspective video game skills and fast-paced reactions. We have a bunch of keen enthusiasts in clubs in Melbourne, and across Australia, and I would certainly recommend exploring it further if it takes your fancy!