The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) today\nannounced it is opening registration for the 2020 Aviation Design Challenge, on\nNational Aviation Day. The Aviation Design Challenge is an annual competition\nGAMA hosts to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)\neducation in U.S. high schools through aviation-focused curriculum and a\nvirtual fly-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis will be our eighth consecutive year hosting this\nlife-changing competition,\u201d said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce. \u201cAs our\nindustry\u2019s workforce and talent needs continue to grow, this program remains a\nvaluable tool in creating a pipeline for the future success of aviation and for\npaying it forward to the next generation to provide them with exciting, rewarding\nSTEM skills and career opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GAMA will provide the first 150 schools that register\ncomplimentary \u201cFly to Learn\u201d curriculum that is developed in alignment with\nnational STEM standards, along with free X-Plane software, which is the world\u2019s\nmost comprehensive and powerful flight simulator for personal computers.\nTeachers will guide students through the principles of the science of flight\nand airplane design, completing the curricula in approximately six weeks in the\nclassroom or in four weeks through an accelerated program. The teams will then\napply that knowledge to modify an airplane design and complete a mission in a\nvirtual fly-off using the software, which GAMA judges will score based on\napplication of what the team learned, and performance parameters. The winning\nteam will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to experience general aviation\nmanufacturing firsthand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nationwide competition has attracted growing interest\neach year and since its inception in 2013 has reached over 3,000 students in\nover 400 high schools, spanning 47 states and Washington, DC. Because of the\nAviation Design Challenge, several past winners and entrants are now pursuing\ncareers in aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n