Many students at WEGO have their own unique talents, but only one can fly a plane and wield a sword. Who is it? Senior Davis Davis.
When Davis was young, around 10 years old, he really liked playing football (soccer) with his friends, and was doing really well, he was scoring on the other team who were older and bigger than him. Until someone from the other team got mad and kicked the ball too hard and it ended up breaking his arm. Unsurprisingly, he stopped playing the game.
Then, one of his friends introduced him to fencing, a competitive sport that involves swords and fast footwork. Davis got into a low level/fun club of fencing. He ended up enjoying the sport, because it is like a contact sport but not as risky.
After his initial experience with fencing, Davis really enjoyed the sport, and decided to keep progressing. And ultimately, he wanted to try his hand at fencing competitions.
Davis is now ranked in the top fencers 10 in the United Kingdom, and in the top 40 in the United States.
“Watching Davis fence is watching him be his true self. He has a knack for keeping calm and concentrating on the piste during tense moments, which works in his favor. He knows the importance of listening to his coaches and putting their advice into practice. He often draws crowds to watch him at tournaments because of his beautiful technique and exciting competitiveness. Davis has dedicated himself to his training for years and it has recently paid off with a B rating and some exciting opportunities to fence in the NCAA,” Davis’ mother, Emily Dore, said.
For David, fencing is all about precision.
“Since fencing is competitive, it has to be accurate about knowing when you hit. The blades are small and flexible,” Davis said.
He insists the swords in electronic sport fencing do not hurt at all.
“On the tip, it’s a button. So when you hit someone that button depresses, and it’s electronic, so it sends an electronic signal. And then the referee can see that you hit the opponent with the weapon, which is called foil. The valid area is the torso. So you wear a conductive jacket. And if you hit on the valid area, then it conducts the electricity and shows that you hit on target. But so you hit their foot that doesn’t count,” Davis said.
When he is not fencing, another activity Davis loves is flying planes. Davis initially got into flying because his dad is a pilot; he was a search and rescue helicopter pilot for the Royal Air Force in the UK.
“Davis has been fascinated with aviation since forever. His dad, a Royal Air Force pilot, used to fly his big yellow rescue helicopter past our house just to say hi during training sorties, and baby Davis would point at it and say ‘dada.’ He has spent a lot of time around helicopters and airplanes throughout his childhood because of his dad. Being a pilot comes naturally to him. We are so proud of all the work he has put into gaining his first pilot’s license,” Emily said.
According to Davis, the initial flights he took were “a lot of fun.” In September 2023, he completed his first sold flight, without an instructor.
“Flying by yourself, it’s a lot different: you’re in charge of everything. And ultimately, you’re responsible for anything that may go wrong because [if] you drive a car by yourself and the engine decides to stop working, you can always just pull over. But when you’re flying, you can’t do that,” Davis said.
Being the “pilot in command” is something he enjoys, however. His end goal is to pursue a career as an airline pilot.
“I’m still continuing the process of that right now. And within the next month or so, I hope to gain my full private pilot’s license, and when I have that, then I will be qualified to take passengers on flights and things like that. And then after that, I hope to progress to gain more licenses. So, next door for that would be getting my commercial license, which means I’m allowed to fly for money. And then obviously, it’s just a progression of licenses until I can get to my end goal,” Davis said. He did, ultimately, receive his pilot’s license in the spring of 2024.
While flying, Davis needs to keep an eye on several instruments, as well as the conditions around him. He does so while listening to a headset to instructions from the air traffic tower. The logistics involved all play into the reason as to why it is such a big step to take a solo flight.
“Yeah, it’s very complicated. There’s a lot of checklists to go through. On a typical day, you preflight the airplane, so you drain a bit of fuel to make sure there’s no water contamination, you test the lights are working, the flaps and controls work. And then, you know, even leaving the airport, you have to do some engine test to make sure it’s not going to quit on you,” Davis said.
All of those steps occur before the plane even leaves the ground.
“When flying, there’s a lot of things you have to monitor. So it’s between making sure you’re not going to get too close to other traffic in the sky. Someone could be coming from any direction. When you’re driving, you know where the traffic is gonna be on your side of the road or the other side of the road. But in a plane, someone could be head on, approaching from your side, descending into you. So you have to keep a big eye out for that,” Davis said.
When Davis is flying, he has to know quite a lot about the weather (warm/cold fronts, ice, inversions, types of fog, dew point, etc.) because variations in the system can affect the performance of the plane.
“Other than that, it’s really relaxing. It depends on the day…sometimes on a smooth day, it can be really relaxing. But other times, you know, if it’s a busy day, and the airport is busy, and air traffic is telling you lots of different instructions that are complicated then of course it’s complicated,” Davis said.
Davis’s interest in aviation also extends to photography, and he runs an Instagram account dedicated to highlighting the beauty of airplanes.
Somehow, he also finds the time to participate in clubs at West Chicago Community High School, too. Although this multi-tasker is often short on time, he has been a participant in AV Club, and enjoys spending time with friends.
“After a long day of either having to deal with tons of homework, and having to practice flying, fencing, or taking pictures, Davis likes to clear his mind by taking long walks,” friend and fellow senior Nicolas Aiuppa said.
Davis has been involved in AV Club at WCCHS, an experience which he says has pushed his boundaries and encouraged him to try new photography techniques and approaches. This past year, Davis was even paid for his work as a photographer.
Now, Davis is leaving high school behind, and looking forward to embracing new opportunities.
“I wish for Davis to always work so hard toward his goals and to always be himself, because he is such a great young man. It has been an absolute pleasure watching him grow up,” Emily said.
