‘Make Drones Your Way’

Drones are becoming increasingly popular world wide among hobbyists as well as professionals. For Ambrose Cartwright, a 16-year-old 11th grade student at Bishop Michael Eldon High School Freeport, his interest in drone building began in earnest more than a year ago when he decided to build a solar powered quad-copter for his school’s 10th grade science fair.

“I have always been interested in how things work and what I could do to better my society. As I grew my curiosity grew stronger and stronger. For my 10th grade science fair I decided to build a solar powered quadcopter. I won first place in my division and my interest really began to escalate from there. I then got a tricopter for my Christmas present and it’s on its 10th revision right now. I also built a mini tricopter to go with it,” says the aspiring mechanical engineer.

Fast forward a year later and Ambrose has launched his own business, Ambrose Cartwright Engineering. “I have had the idea to do this for a while, since I built the first quadcopter but I really got into it when I really ventured into the model aeronautics field. I’m a part of the The Academy of Model Aeronautics based in Indiana.” AMA is a self-supporting, non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote development of model aviation as a recognized sport and worthwhile recreation.

“After I got into that club I was exposed to a variety of model aeronautics. When I was invited to Flight Fest 2015 my view widened even more because of the hundreds of people roaming that one field doing what they loved. It surprised me to the extent where I said if I could bring this to The Bahamas to make it better and fun for everyone else why hold myself back. I decided along with my mother to go ahead and start my business, Ambrose Cartwright Engineering. I started it on September 3rd on my front porch.”

Ambrose says that he plans to pursue a mechanical engineering degree abroad when he completes high school, having narrowed his options down to two Universities in Canada and one in the United States. “My plans are to make some money in order to alleviate some of the pressure off my parents. I want to go off to college. With the money I’m making I want to go off to one of the top schools in Canada which I find myself interested in. I want to become a mechanical engineer,” says Ambrose.

Ambrose says that the interest in his work has been great. “I can build the drone that you want to your specifications, to your needs and if something goes wrong I can repair it. Over here some one is always looking for something new or something different. World wide these things are so popular you can find them in almost every household. Here I’m the only one building them and can fix them at this point. If you were to get a drone from an online supplier and sometime goes wrong with it I know that I can fix it. I put a lot of care and effort into my work. It’s really more of a pastime for me,” says Ambrose.

The Bahamas Society of Engineers (BSE) recognized Ambrose at its 2015 Installation and Awards Ceremony on November 20 where he provided a drone demonstration to the audience using one of his custom made drones.

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