Q&A with Lexie Janson; Women in FPV

While it is true that UAVs can be used for everything from cinema production, to emergency response, to real estate photos, to improving agricultural fields and so much more. There is also the fun aspect of flying, such as flying at the park, taking a fun video with your family, or drone racing. Drone racing has become a large industry in the last few years. Hundreds to thousands of pilots around the world have begun to fly high speed, first person view, carbon fiber drones. These drones can fly at speed of up to 170 MPH! Some are custom built using many parts bought from several companies, some are pre-built and sold online or in-store with no assembly required, and there is always a combination of both.

JonnyUAV's Jonathon Weiss, had the chance to talk to Lexie Janson, aka. MaionHigh (May-on-HIGH), a profession drone racer from Hamburg, Germany, who has overcome obstacles of not only becoming a great pilot, but also some sexist biases as well. Below is her story and the interview on how even in a “man’s game” girls can accomplish so much.

Tell us about yourself and your background:

Oh dear prop gods… I am an architect (I got my engineer degree at a university in Europe. But it wasn’t working for me), but I am working as a programmer and web developer. I work remotely, so this is my secret of all the traveling (I just work wherever my computer is).  I also really love traveling and meeting new (and old!) friends. This is why I love FPV community so much.

When did you begin your interest in drones?

I started my adventure with drones in February 2015, and with FPV around June 2015. I am a licensed pilot, this year I was selected to the Poland National Team for FPV drone racing.

What mentors or influences have you had in your life?

When it goes to drones - I must mention Zoe Stumbaugh… when I was starting - she was the only other girl out there. When it goes to other stuff… I looked up to lots of women and men that were going through all hate and doubts: like Elon Musk, Rosa Parks, Grace Hopper, Mark Zuckerberg and so on. And mentors… When I started my adventure with programming (that I was learning along with finishing my engineer degree) I had a greatest mentor I could possibly ask for. Anna is working for Google in Poland, and she taught me about programming, computational thinking and public speaking. She was also the one pushing me to fight for my dreams and show haters my lovely middle finger ;)

Tell us a bit about your professional racing career and your sponsors?

Well I am sponsored by 2 companies - Tattu and Gemfan. I am also a member of the most amazing team I could ask for - InfinitySpin. My racing career started pretty late because I never thought I am able to get higher than the last place (and I proved myself wrong). The issue with me (and I think other girls out there. So, if they read it - please remember one thing) is that since the beginning we are not thought to race, drive, play with science and so on. We have to learn from the bottom basic, and then all we can think of is “geez I just started I am not good enough” and this is a lie. What is important is to repeat “I can, and I will… watch me” and my second favorite “I tried, it’s already more than a lot of people.”. If I fail - oh well… we know what to work on. If I win - also great, right? This is how I got my sponsors, and this is how I got into a team - I tried, I worked for it, and I was picky ;)

What where some of your trial and errors in become a pilot?

My biggest error was trusting wrong people. I used to live in a country that we hear a lot when it comes to women rights right now (the European one ;) ) So I trusted a person who was telling me that I suck, I am not good enough, I can’t do anything, my vlogs and videos are terrible, I shouldn’t show my face, I shouldn’t show myself with tons of guys because I will be considered a tramp and so on (btw. try to be a girl in this hobby and not being around tons of guys. I’ve been on the International Drone Sports Competition (IDSC) race event in Korea. One girl - me, and 99 other guys.) But once I got to better people - turned out that the person I trusted was just working against me… so I started doing what I thought is fine, I asked others for help. I finally tuned my quad… and this is how my first sponsors showed up, and all the things rolled really fast. So that’s a lesson to all - don’t trust just one person and if You think something is not right - most probably You are right!

Have you received any awards or other recognition for your flying?

Yes I did! My first award ever was from “Women and Drones” and “Drone360 magazine” for the big research they were doing around the world. It was called “Women to watch in UAS” and they selected 9 most influential women around the world! I was the only one from FPV field and I got my award for category “Emerging”. Never been as proud of myself. My second award was from Freestyle. I won second place in the Ukraine Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) race :)

How can your fans and others support you?

I am really happy when I see comments, views and subscribers :) nice words are always helpful :) I am also running a patreon account (called MaiOnHigh) and I am always happy to help out and show up on drone events and teaching organizations (like Hackerspace or Geek Girls Carrots). I think allowing me to share knowledge and support towards others - is the biggest support for me.

Is there ways that your fans can reach out to you?

Sure! I am always trying to answer all the comments on YouTube. I am answering to everyone on Instagram (when the message is not crossing a thin line), I am also available on my Facebook fanpage!

Do you have any advice for young pilots?

Don’t let anyone tell You that You are too young, too old, a girl, a noob, that your parts are clones, that your build sucks, that you fly horrible, that your camera is not on point, that why are you making vids for YT (or not) or whatever people can say. You have to do what You love most, and all the good things and progress will follow. If someone tells You that You can’t do something, or You will fail tell them “I can, and I will - watch me”.

Also, don’t stress about YT views and subscribers. I got my first 1000 subs after more than a year of making videos.

Do you have anything special to say to young women looking to become something great?

There’s no “you MUST” - there’s “You can” There’s no “you can’t do that” - there’s “You can do whatever you want” There’s no such thing as “girl stuff, boy stuff” - according to my knowledge there are only 2 things that the other sex can’t do… I am sure girls can’t donate DNA and boys can’t give birth. Most probably the list ends here. If someone tells you that you will fail - show them that they are wrong (and watch how they are failing sometimes. The negative people just can’t handle their own stuff)

On March 22, 2017, Lexie did a Q&A video on Youtube about getting girls involved in FPV check it out at; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWxTJMATZyg

You can reach out to Lexie, support her and see her on her journey below: www.facebook.com/maionhigh www.instagram.com/maionhigh www.youtube.com/maionhigh www.patreon.com/maionhigh www.tumblr.com/maionhigh

She also has a fan mail address! She is receiving stuff from this address about every two weeks, so please be patient for her to receive your letter.

Lexie Janson (MaiOnHigh)

Olchowa Street 2A

84-240 Reda, Poland