Those Magnificent Kids and Their Flying Machines

EAA AirVenture 2023 will see the return of the UAS4STEM competition for high school students.

Organized by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, the event features groups of students, ranging in age from 11-years to high school seniors, who build Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)—which is to say, drones—and pit such against those of rival teams in a variety of competitions.

2023’s UAS4STEM competition will comprise two divisions: beginner and advanced.

Academy of Model Aeronautics education director Kyle Jaracz stated: “As the competition has evolved, we want to continue to challenge the competitors who return year after year. The advanced division will have teams build on skills from last year’s competition.”

Teams competing in the beginner division will focus on the fundamentals of UAS programming and operation. Advanced teams, conversely, will be tasked with developing mechanisms by which their UAS entries will pick up and transport specified objects to designated locations.

Teams slated to partake in 2023’s UAS4STEM competition include:

Beginner Division

• The Corntographers (Yorktown Heights, New York)
• The Flying Nuggets (Decatur, Georgia)
• Greenville Composite Squadron (Greeneville, Tennessee)
• Hardin Valley Academy AeroHAWKS (Knoxville, Tennessee)
• Redstone Composite Squadron (Huntsville, Alabama)
• St. Mary’s CAP (Hollywood, Maryland)

 Advanced Division

• Arbitrary Innovations (Vernon Hills, Illinois)
• Bumblebees (Hawthorn Woods, Illinois)
• Midtown Mavericks Drone Team (Atlanta, Georgia)
• McIntosh Aeronautics (Peachtree City, Georgia)
• Redstone Composite Squadron (Huntsville, Alabama)
• Some Assembly Required (Rockville, Alabama)

The competition will span 24 through 26 July and take place near the southwest corner of Camp Scholler on the AirVenture grounds. Winning teams will be recognized prior to Wednesday’s night air show. Teams finishing in first, second, and third place in both divisions will receive Skydio products and scholarship awards funded by the AMA Foundation and Skydio.

UAS4STEM is a competition by which young people are afforded opportunity to discover career opportunities in the UAS and aviation industries. UAS4STEM is a program of the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

FMI: www.modelaircraft.org, www.uas4stem.org