GAMA Announces 2025 Aviation Design Challenge Winners

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced that the team from Porter High School in Porter, Texas, is the first-place winner of the 2025 GAMA Aviation Design Challenge.

The team from Cambridge High School in Milton, Georgia, is the second-place winner and the team from El Segundo High School in El Segundo, California, is the third-place winner.

“GAMA is very proud of all the teams that participated in the 2025 Aviation Design Challenge, and we continue to be impressed by the entries submitted. We congratulate Porter High School on winning the overall competition as well as Cambridge High School and El Segundo High School for their top place finishes. GAMA looks forward to continuing to facilitate this remarkable program which provides students with the opportunity to learn about and apply the science of flight and aircraft design,” said James Viola, GAMA president and CEO.

Over 70 high school teams, representing 24 states, entered the 2025 GAMA Aviation Design Challenge. During the first portion of the challenge, teams used complimentary “Fly to Learn” curriculum to learn the principles of flight and airplane design, consistent with national STEM standards.

During the second portion of the competition, teams applied their knowledge to modify the design of an airplane and compete in a fly-off using X-Plane software.

This year’s mission was to modify a Cessna 208 Caravan to complete a test flight, carrying as much weight as possible, as fast as possible, in the Himalayas. The teams needed to design their aircraft to maximize speed and cargo weight to successfully navigate between two remote locations in high altitudes.

Judges scored the teams based on test flight performance, a summary explaining design changes, a video submission summarizing what they learned and a checklist describing steps for the test flight.

Members of the first-place team from Porter High School include Jocelyn Alfaro, Alex Espada, Major Renard and Eris Rodgers. The team’s design changes included an increased wingspan with the addition of leading-edge slats, propeller modifications to improve efficiency and adoption of a T-Tail configuration. Their report went into detail about their flight testing and piloting techniques to mitigate challenges from the design and conditions. The team’s first-place prize includes a CubCrafters Manufacturing Experience, demonstration flight opportunities and much more. 

When asked about this year’s competition, George Gowdy, the Porter team’s teacher, said, “The GAMA Aviation Design Challenge represents more than just a competition win, it's opened doors to a hands-on experience with general aviation manufacturing that will shape these students' futures. Their success demonstrates the power of engaging STEM education and proves that our students have what it takes to grow into the next generation of aerospace innovators."

The second-place entry from Cambridge High School elaborately demonstrated their reasoning behind design changes which included increased wingspan and wing chord adjustments, stabilizer adjustments and propeller modifications to improve efficiency. They will receive a two-day Redbird Flight STEM Lab.

The third-place entry from El Segundo High School illustrated an intricate design with trial-and-error details and reasoning behind continued modifications towards the final configuration for the mission. They will receive one-year ForeFlight Performance Plus subscriptions and a facility tour of Robinson Helicopter Company. 

The 2024 Aviation Design Challenge sponsoring companies include Bombardier, Cirrus Aircraft, CubCrafters, Embraer, ForeFlight, Garmin, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, Hartzell Propeller, Jet Aviation, Pipistrel by Textron eAviation, Redbird Flight, Robinson Helicopter Company, Signature Aviation, Textron Aviation and Wipaire. Sponsors provide financial support for the curriculum, software and prizes as well as in-kind donations.

“GAMA is grateful to all of our sponsors as the success and growth of the Aviation Design Challenge is attributable to their tremendous commitment to furthering youth outreach. We look forward to rewarding the hard work of our winning teams with the experiences that are made possible by our sponsors,” Viola said.