Airspeeder Picks Its First Three Pilots Ahead of Adelaide eVTOL Race

Airspeeder has locked in the opening names for its inaugural International Series, and all three come straight out of the drone racing world. Thomas Bitmatta, Mason West and Seth Moore will fly for Australia, the United States and New Zealand respectively when the first private race takes place in Adelaide in November 2026.

The lineup announcement leaves two national teams still to be filled. Airspeeder says those remaining pilots will be confirmed over the coming weeks — which means the grid is still a work in progress with the Adelaide date approaching.

From FPV Quads to Full-Size Racers

The step up here is not a small one. All three pilots built their reputations on small first-person-view racing drones, and the series will put them in electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft of a very different scale.

Airspeeder is not leaving that gap to chance. The selected pilots will go through simulator sessions, aircraft familiarisation and operational training before they ever line up on a start grid.

• Thomas Bitmatta (Australia): Five-time Australian Drone Nationals champion, two-time MultiGP International Open World Cup winner, and a Melbourne-based drone cinematographer, engineer and mechanic.
• Mason West (United States): Came up through flight simulation, won an Airspeeder community sim tournament, then raced with a wildcard team in the Drone Champions League; also does technical work on live sports and entertainment broadcasts.
• Seth Moore (New Zealand): Christchurch-based FPV pilot and camera operator, 2026 national champion, fifth overall at the Australian Drone Nationals and president of Redzone Drone Racing.

Moore has already started getting to grips with the platform on a simulator, an early sign of how much adaptation the bigger aircraft demands.

Training Partner Brought On Board

Global Drone Solutions is handling training duties for the series, working alongside Airspeeder’s own flight crew. The focus is on aircraft response, precision and operational discipline — the unglamorous part that decides whether a race weekend runs cleanly.

Airspeeder has framed the pilot signings around that transition: experienced competitive flyers, but new to the handling traits and operating requirements of a larger electric racer.

For the series itself, the November 2026 Adelaide event is the first real test. The concept of crewed multirotor racing has been talked about for years; getting pilots trained and aircraft ready for an actual private race is a different matter entirely.

Two seats are still open, and the clock is ticking.