13th Annual Competition For U.S. High School Students

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association announced the official opening of its 2025 Aviation Design Challenge.

The challenge promotes careers in aviation through aviation-focused Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education curricula in high schools throughout the U.S.

The Aviation Design Challenge is open to the first 150 schools that register to participate. Registered schools will receive, free of charge, the “Fly to Learn” curriculum that is aligned with national STEM standards. It is designed to facilitate the learning of the principles of flight and airplane design. Teachers can guide students through the curriculum in about 4-6 weeks.

Teams then apply that knowledge to virtually modify an airplane design to complete a mission in a fly-off using X-Plane software.

Complete fly-off challenge submissions are scored by GAMA judges based on the fly-off and other performance parameters. The winning team receives an all-expenses-paid general aviation experience to include a CubCrafters Manufacturing Experience. The second-place team receives a Redbird Flight STEM lab and the third-place team members each receive a one-year ForeFlight Performance Plus subscription.

Pete Bunce, GAMA President and CEO explained, “GAMA is excited and proud to cultivate exciting aviation learning experiences through our annual Aviation Design Challenge. This program provides a great introduction for students to learn more about aviation and the diverse career opportunities that the industry has to offer. We continue to upgrade and refine the experience so that we can further engage both students and teachers. Each year, we are awed by the creativity and devotion to detail from each team’s submissions and we look forward to seeing what they come up with for this year’s challenge.”

FMI:  gama.aero/