1st Annual Aviation Day

The Enid Aviation Workforce Group hosted Aviation Day on April 12, 2024. One of the goals was to expose students to the various careers and career pathways in Aviation and Aerospace industries. The day was a huge success with 90 students attending. Overall, we had approximately 200 individuals through the door. The high school aged students were from schools that had STEM or AOPA curriculum programs.

The event held at Enid Woodring Regional Airport offered 20 vendor booths where the students were exposed to different college programs as well as varying careers associated with Aviation and Aerospace, military recruiters, and pilots, as well as area businesses that provide jobs in support of Vance Air Force Base, commercial and private airplane owners. Besides military or commercial pilots, jobs represented included aircraft maintenance and repair, sheet metal repair, and aircraft painters, just to name a few. Female pilots were well represented with booths focused on celebrating women in aviation of the past and into the future.

A sack lunch was served to the students giving them fuel to climb into the cockpit of a United States Airforce training plane such as the T1, T6 or T38 aircraft. Students talked to each pilot from Vance Air Force Base. The students were very engaged visiting each exhibitor, participating in drone demonstrations, talking with business owners, college professors, and Autry Technology Center Robotics students and instructors. There were private pilots with planes on display and a local aviation school was present to assist students interested in getting their pilot license.

Door prizes at the end of the day created quite a buzz from the crowd of students and instructors. Giveaways included drone kits to 10 lucky students. One of eight schools that brought students to the event received the grand prize; a drone package that included curriculum, 10 drones and a drone cage. These amazing giveaways were the grand finale to the end of a perfect day. The feedback from students, exhibitors and teachers has been positive. They have even asked if this will be an annual event. Indeed, that is the plan!