GAMA, Build A Plane Launch Second Design Challenge
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Build A Plane teamed up last year to bring four high school students to the Glasair factory to build a Sportsman, and this year they are doing it again. “Having worked side-by-side with the students for two weeks last summer and seen how the competition not only improved their skill sets but convinced almost all of them to enter the aviation field, Im thrilled to be going back to our wonderful hosts at Glasair for another build in 2014,” Pete Bunce, president of GAMA, said this week. The program aims to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in high schools across the country.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Build A Plane teamed up last year to bring four high school students to the Glasair factory to build a Sportsman, and this year they are doing it again. "Having worked side-by-side with the students for two weeks last summer and seen how the competition not only improved their skill sets but convinced almost all of them to enter the aviation field, Im thrilled to be going back to our wonderful hosts at Glasair for another build in 2014," Pete Bunce, president of GAMA, said this week. The program aims to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in high schools across the country.
Any school that wants to compete will receive a free six-week "Fly to Learn" curriculum, which comes with flight simulation software powered by X-Plane. The project guides students through the science of flight and airplane design. Each class will modify the design of a Glasair Sportsman while flying a specific mission profile. The schools will then compete in a virtual fly-off, which will be scored on aerodynamic and performance parameters. Judges from GAMA will select the winning team, which will receive round-trip airfare to Glasair's factory in Arlington, Wash., in June. Hotels, meals and field trips to nearby aviation sites are provided. Schools must register for the program by Feb. 14. For more info or to register, go to GAMA's website.
