Brazilian airframer Embraer hosted its first youth Aviation Day last week at its Melbourne, Florida campus. The March 9 event—held in partnership with Experience Aviation and the Brevard Public Schools Offices of Career and Technical Education as well as Diversity and Inclusion—saw 100 local middle school students visit the company’s engineering and technology center.
The seventh and eighth graders, hand selected from their school’s career and STEM tech programs, met with Embraer employees representing many of the manufacturer’s disciplines such as engineering, design, and flight operations to learn more about what is required to perform those jobs. They also participated in hands-on STEM projects developed by the Flying Classroom, a partner of the Embraer Foundation which has a goal of fostering aviation interest among youth. According to the OEM, its goal is “to ignite the curiosity of future industry leaders” through the transfer of knowledge and direct exposure to the industry.
As a special guest, the students also met the founder of Experience Aviation, Barrington Irving, the Guinness World Record holder as the youngest person and first Black pilot to fly solo around the world. His nonprofit educational foundation looks to take children out of the classroom and into cockpits.