Whitfield Selected for GAMA Aviation Design Challenge

Whitfield School has been selected to participate in the 2023 General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Aviation Design Challenge, a real-world educational experience that promotes STEM education through aviation curriculum and features a virtual fly-off in high schools across the United States. Schools participating in the GAMA Aviation Design Challenge receive complimentary Fly to Learn curricula, which includes flight simulation software powered by X-Plane.

Whitfield’s GAMA Aviation Design Challenge teams are composed of students in Chris Sellers’ Accelerated Physics I course. The team captains are Braydon Sellers ‘24 and Oliver Hornstra ’24. Students are running the X-Plane software on new, high-end computers located in the balcony in the Intellectual Commons (IC).

After learning about the science of flight and airplane design, students are applying their knowledge and understanding by modifying the design of an airplane and competing in a virtual fly-off, which is scored on aerodynamic and performance parameters while flying a specific mission profile. After an internal competition between Whitfield teams, the winning flight will be submitted to the GAMA judges who will select the first place school based on the virtual fly-off score and other factors. The top prize will include an all-expenses-paid trip for up to four high school students, one teacher, and one chaperone from the winning team to experience general aviation manufacturing firsthand. The winning school will be announced in May.

“When students can experience an immersive learning experience like this, it takes the study of physics to another level,” said faculty member Chris Sellers. “They walk into class and immediately ask if we are flying today. When they are working in their teams using the X-Plane software, it’s really exciting to hear them engaged in this energetic dialogue of ‘sciencing’—as a teacher, that’s rewarding.”