Bullard High School senior Connor Alstrom developed his aerial videography business, @Flying, at Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fresno State, then took it to the national stage at the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in New York City on Oct. 6. He now is back home to help out at The Big Fresno Fair.

Alstrom, who is in the Lyles Center’s Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) program, competed with 29 other students at the annual national competition. He is the latest Lyles Center participant from local high schools who has qualified for the competition in recent years.

@Flying utilizes a remote-control helicopter with a camera mounted to take aerial video footage and still shots. His remote control helicopters can fly up to 500 feet, but typically hover around 200 feet, providing a 170-degree wide angle shot.

“My business provides a cost-effective alternative to hiring a full-size helicopter and a photographer for aerial shots,” said Alstrom. “Overall, customers can save up to $400 per hour by utilizing @Flying.”

Businesses that have expressed interest in Alstrom’s company include real estate professionals looking for aerial shots of new for-sale properties and farmers who want to view crops and determine where water or fertilizer is needed. He has even had interest from people wanting to utilize @Flying for music videos and small film production. The latest business interested in utilizing @Flying’s services – The Big Fresno Fair.

The fair will utilize the video footage to view traffic flow both inside and around the grounds to help determine if any operational changes need to be made, among other uses for the footage, said Stacy Rianda, deputy manager of The Big Fresno Fair.

The National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is part of the New York-based Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. NFTE Central Valley was started in 2007, and the national organization has been around for more than 25 years. NFTE Central Valley started in three high schools, Roosevelt, W.E.B Dubois (public charter) and Carter G. Woodson (public charter), and is still active in all three. NFTE focuses on providing leadership classes for high school students in low-income communities. The classes reach 905 students from Bakersfield to Chico.

“NFTE Central Valley has provided thousands of students in our area with the education, advice and leadership needed to enter the entrepreneurship world,” Dr. Timothy Stearns, executive director of the Lyles Center said.

“It’s a way that we can teach our youth early on about different opportunities in the business world. Connor is one of our top NFTE students. He excels in everything that he does and has a bright future ahead of him.”

The Lyles Center is a nationally-ranked entrepreneurship center with a successful track record of inspiring students, faculty, alumni and community leaders to act on ideas that build a prosperous future. For more information go to www.lylescenter.com.