THERE’S NO LIFT
IN A VACUUM,
PART TWO
Education Through Aviation
By Kyle Jaracz, Education Director | kylej@modelaircraft.org
I promised I would circle back to this topic! If you missed the first part of this series, in the November 2024 issue of Model Aviation, I shared some of the great resources that exist and are accessible to you, an AMA member, to utilize as you bring model aviation to those who haven’t yet experienced the thrill of flight.
Our work as a founding partner in the Aero Alliance group is a great example of this. Individuals from aviation-focused government and association organizations collaborate to share resources, combine efforts, and share and receive inspiration to continue the good work of sharing aviation. Representatives include AMA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the EAA, the FAA, NASA, the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), and Women in Aviation International (WAI).
The AMA Education team has a close working relationship that has been codified with official partnerships with most of these organizations. Now it’s time to continue the conversation with several other aviation-focused, nationally involved associations with which AMA partners.
We went over our partnerships with NASA, FAA Aviation and Space Education (FAA AVSED), and EAA in part one. Let’s begin this article by touching on some of the great work that AOPA conducts.
The AOPA Foundation crafted its High School Aviation STEM Curriculum (https://youcanfly.aopa.org/high-school/high-school-curriculum) to unlock pathways to aviation careers for teens across America. This customizable outlet offers educators the ability to pursue seven courses in two STEM Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways, for both piloted aircraft and UAS jobs. These are made available to both homeschoolers and traditional secondary schools at no charge.
It’s a great opportunity to utilize the coursework if you or someone you know is a high school educator. Perhaps more importantly, it’s an anchor point to capitalize on if you have one of these programs in your area. Offer your club space as a resource, your aeromodeling expertise to the instructors, and share events and activities that are happening in your area.
Now let’s discuss one of my favorite programs that develops youth across the country: the CAP U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (www.gocivilairpatrol.com/members/ed-training). AMA and CAP have a long-standing partnership, focused on sharing resources and educational STEM-focused model aircraft and simulators that open the sky to thousands of cadets each year. The CAP program intentionally develops individual competencies of knowledge, skills, behaviors, and aptitude by developing self, others, ideas, and their organization. We at AMA are proud to stand next to them, promoting a path to model aviation, sporting opportunities, and career paths that intersect with UAS.
Next up is the NASAO (https://nasao.org). This collaborative association brings together many aviation-focused members across the country. These are environments that can be very welcoming to model aviation when the appropriate safety measures and conversations take place.
We share information about how to utilize AMA’s robust safety measures and talented membership to share the sky at airports across the nation, as well as our Government Affairs and Clubs departments that provide the expertise to navigate some of the specific challenges related to operating model aircraft in and near these airports. In many cases, it’s possible to do, and what better place to share the most easily affordable and accessible method of aviation with potential new members to AMA?
I’m being a bit too verbose here, and this is going to have to push to a third write-up in the future. I’m looking forward to sharing information about OBAP and WAI in the next installment. Until then, fly safely and have fun!
