Riter spent a cold and rainy Saturday in January putting up signs he built at the museum, which is located on the east side of the airport. The museum is housed in a beige hangar, and before the signs went up, it was easy to miss when you drove by. Now there is a kiosk-style sign next to the road and two murals on planter boxes on the airside of the hangar.

The rules of the Eagle Scout project dictate it must benefit an organization outside of the Boy Scouts of America. Often scouts tie their project directly to their community, such as constructing ramps to enable accessibility to buildings, creating paths and walkways, and in the case of Riter, enhancing the visibility of a local museum.

When Riter was a senior at Raisbeck Aviation High School in Seattle, he reached out to Kyle Baxter, administrator at the Olympic Flight Museum. The museum is run by a small group of passionate volunteers, and they are always looking for assistance to enhance the experience for others.

With the help of his scout troop, Riter got to work. It took several months of planning and fundraising, and then came the big day when the signs and murals were installed.

“For the murals, I chose the L-39Z0 Albatros and UH-1H ‘Huey’,” Riter told FLYING. “I have always been impressed at how Albatros epitomizes efficiency and flexibility in training and battle, while the Huey holds sentimental value to me with its connection with both of my grandfathers who served during the Vietnam conflict. These aircraft are displayed at the museum.

“I’ve explored them across the Northwest and the U.S. I find a special charm in the smaller museums, where encounters with experts who have flown, restored, or designed the planes add an infectious enthusiasm to the experience. Their willingness to share their stories has shaped my life’s journey.”

Museum Collection

The museum houses an eclectic mix of military and civilian artifacts. Many of the items were donated or are on loan from local aviators. The facility is also available for special events and is the driving force behind an airshow in the summer.

The Olympic Flight Museum is located at 7637-A Old Highway 99 SE  in Olympia. If you fly into the airport, the museum is on the east side of Runway 17/35.

The post Olympic Flight Museum Beneficiary of Scout Project appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Monday, GAMA announced this year’s challenge winner: Erie 1 Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Harkness Career and Technical Center in Cheektowaga, New York. The team from Raisbeck Aviation High School in Tukwila, Washington, was awarded second place.  

“The students did an outstanding job this year,” said Tom Leach, the winning team’s teacher in a news release. “They used all the skills from the course along with the engineering design process to complete the project.”

Now in its 10th year, GAMA’s Aviation Design Challenge has more than doubled in participation, growing from 27 teams its first year (2013) to 65 teams in 2022. In all, this year’s 65 high school teams represented 28 states, according to GAMA. The challenge teaches students the principles of flight and aircraft design and incorporates hands-on engineering using X-Plane software. The program’s complementary “Fly to Learn” curriculum incorporates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) lessons. 

CubCrafters Manufacturing Experience

Accepting the first-place prize this week, members of the winning team traveled to Washington state to visit CubCrafters in Yakima for a “Manufacturing Experience,” and to tour Boeing, Signature Aviation, and other facilities in and around Seattle. 

Our Aviation Design Challenge winners, from Harkness Career & Technical Center, working with CAD design on their prototypes for their Component Design Challenge rudder locks. We are grateful for @ClickBondInc’s sponsorship of the Challenge. pic.twitter.com/8xDMt7dC0X

— GAMA (@GAManufacturers) August 10, 2022

“This is one of the coolest competitions I’ve done,” said Joe Illos, a student on the team, in a release.

Erie 1 BOCES Harkness Career and Technical Center appears to have a winning formula. The team won the challenge in 2018, as well, and came in second place both in 2019 and in 2020.

“I am very proud of their accomplishments and driven effort for the challenge this year, this class of students earned this accomplishment,” Leach said.

There would appear to be a friendly rivalry between Harkness Career and Technical Center and Raisbeck Aviation High School, with the two teams frequently finishing in either first or second place. This year, Raisbeck Aviation High School came in second place in the challenge, but in 2021, the school won the championship slot. As the second-place team this year, Raisbeck received a Redbird Flight Simulations STEM Lab for its efforts. 

The Challenge

For the 2022 challenge, GAMA asked the student teams to modify a CubCrafters NX Cub with a nosewheel to fly from Seattle to Packwood, Washington, to efficiently deliver a maximum payload. The teams needed to design their aircraft to maximize transportable payload and successfully land on a small runway, surrounded by high terrain, GAMA said. This was the first year the challenge involved modifying a CubCrafters aircraft. 

According to GAMA, judges scored the teams based on performance parameters, a checklist of steps involved in the demonstration flight and a video submission in which the team summarized what they learned.

“The winning entry from the Harkness Career and Technical Center team illustrated an in-depth design process, with multiple iterations and fine-tuning done to come up with their final aircraft submission,” said Andre Castro, director of communications for GAMA. “They put together a great overall submission that was well thought out and showed how much the students learned throughout the challenge.”

Today, our Aviation Design Challenge winners, from Harkness Career & Technical Center, began their general aviation manufacturing experience with a tour of @SignatureFBO. We are grateful for their hospitality and sponsorship of the Challenge. pic.twitter.com/1R3uKRaXzi

— GAMA (@GAManufacturers) August 8, 2022

The winning modification included increased wingspan and horsepower, and added winglets and speed brakes. The second-place team had a slightly different modification, which included increased aspect ratio and decreased wing area, and decreased horsepower.

“It is inspiring to see teams from all over the country put forth such great effort into the Aviation Design Challenge. We are particularly proud of the work put forth by the teams from Harkness Career and Technical Center and Raisbeck Aviation High School and look forward to rewarding these teams with additional exceptional experiences which will continue to foster interest into all aspects of general aviation,” said Pete Bunce, GAMA president and CEO, in a release.

Members of the first-place team from Harkness Career and Technical Center include: Matthew Brooder, Zach Cid, Tyler Doran, Joseph Illos, Connor LaPenna, Mark Maglietto, Ethan Mouyeos, Ryan Myers, Christian Pendola, Tyler Robertson, Maverick Roth, Thomas Schumacher, Thomas Shine, Yulian Sirakov, Jessica Thompson, Aidan Vogt, and Bryce Zeltman. 

The 2022 Aviation Design Challenge sponsoring companies include Boeing, Bombardier, Camp Systems, Cirrus Aircraft, Click Bond, CubCrafters, Embraer, Garmin, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Hartzell Propeller, Jet Aviation, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Redbird Flight Simulations, Signature Aviation, Textron Aviation, and Wipaire. 

READ MORE: FLYING Coverage of GAMA’s Aviation Design Challenge

Previous Winners

2021: Raisbeck Aviation High School in Tukwila, Washington

2020: Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs, Georgia

2019: Hayesville High School in Hayesville, North Carolina

2018: Erie 1 BOCES Harkness Career and Technical Center in Cheektowaga, New York

2017: Olney High School in Olney, Texas

The post Students Modify a CubCrafters NX Cub for GAMA’s Aviation Design Challenge appeared first on FLYING Magazine.