Michigan Youth Future Flight Challenge is a virtual statewide competition for students in grades 4 – 8. Through engineering design, mentorship, and business planning, students gain essential skills and explore aerospace careers in a fun, team-based environment.
• Real world STEM application through prototype design, business case creation, and presentation to a panel of judges.
• Connection to industry professionals with two mentors assigned to each team, giving limitless feedback, insights, and support.
• Industry and college connections for facility tours or campus visits.
Program Impact
245 Students
57 Michigan Cities
57 Mentors
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Third Annual Michigan Youth Future Flight Challenge
The Women of the Aerospace Industry Association of Michigan (WAIAM) are committed to inspiring young children to explore and pursue careers in STEM. We believe that one of the most impactful ways to ignite this passion is through mentorship—introducing youths to professionals in the industry fosters a sense of connection and belonging within the STEM community.
As WAIAM, we see it as our responsibility to cultivate the next generation of innovative and creative young women who will shape the future of aerospace in Michigan.
WAIAM is a dedicated committee within AIAM focused on advocacy, education, and visibility for women and girls in aerospace across the state. Led by Co-Chairs Karen Arondoski of I.F. Metalworks and Rachel Plowman of Woodward, our growing team is passionate about expanding opportunities and driving progress through outreach, mentorship, and representation.
One of our flagship initiatives is the Michigan Youth Future Flight Challenge, now in its third year. The 2024 program kicked off on October 12, 2024 and spanned four weeks of collaborative work, culminating in final presentations on November 9, 2024.
Participants were challenged to develop innovative, sustainable flight solutions addressing one of three key themes: Earth, Space, or the Future. The competition required critical thinking across multiple disciplines, including engineering, marketing and design, business planning, and sales.
To support the participants, 27 professional women from the aerospace industry volunteered as mentors, guiding approximately 24 teams through the creative process. These mentors provided insights into their careers, answered questions, and offered valuable feedback to help each team refine their ideas.
On November 9, 2024, fourteen teams presented their final projects to a panel of expert judges. The creativity, technical skill, and enthusiasm displayed were remarkable—underscoring the powerful impact events like this can have on young girls’ interest in aerospace.
1st Place, $1000 Prize: Team The Flying 5
Team The Flying 5 created The F5 EcoMonitor. They chose to tackle both the Earth and Future challenge statements by creating a drone capable of detecting fires and air pollution. The F5 EcoMonitor scans forests for potential fires and communicates withlocal fire stations. It is also able to filter polluted air and sample those pollutants to create a map of pollution distribution.
2nd Place, $600 Prize: Team Aspiring Scientists
Team Aspiring Scientists tackled the Future challenge statement by designing the Doctor Drone! Inspired by the COVID pandemic, the Doctor Drone is capable of performing emergency blood draws and distributing oximeters, pule meters, BP monitors, etc. It’s autonomous GPS makes it able to provide emergency medical assistance at every doorstep.
3rd Place, $400 Prize: Team Wings That Fly
Team Wings That Fly created a drone that combats rising greenhouse gas levels. Tackling the Earth challenge statement, their drone Candied Carbon uses it’s filtration system to capture and separate greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The captured gasses are then repurposed, using the CO2 to promote plant growth and collected gasses used for algae cultivation and biofuel production.
Most Creative Honorable Mention, $200 Prize: Team Mindful Engineering
Team Mindful Engineering solved the Earth challenge by creating the HurriHelp, a drone that provides post-hurricane support. This team recognized the increase in frequency of hurricanes and created the HurriHelp to deliver supplies to stranded individuals. This drone also collects plastic waste, which are then turned into sunglasses as a part of their fundraising efforts.
Throughout this competition, multiple in-person and online connections between students and female industry mentors were made. The girls and their mentors will continue to foster these relationships to learn more about the aerospace industry and how they can continue to be a part of it in the future.
