Brisbane drone racer makes US history

It may appear like another case of "boys and their toys", but for Brisbane's Chad Nowak there was a little more at stake.

Nowak on the weekend made history by winning the inaugural American drone-racing championship held in California.

He beat a field of more than 100, sweeping all three events at the competition including the individual time trial and freestyle.

Drone-racing competitors fly custom-built machines via remote control.

They rely on a series of mounted cameras that relay video to specially designed goggles worn by the driver.

The drones can reach speeds of more than 100km/h.

The sport is gaining an underground following in Australia, with races taking place in many capital cities. Nowak has previously campaigned for drone-racing to become a fully-fledged sport.

He flies under the pseudonym FinalGlideAus and his YouTube channel under the same name has attracted more than 700,000 views.