After a quick break to recharge from EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 (my voice needed it), the DreamLaunch Tour is officially back on the road. First stop: Raleigh, North Carolina, where we supported the launch of a new aviation and engineering STEM program at local high schools.
But first, a refresher for those who aren’t familiar with the DreamLaunch Tour.
Started in 2004, the tour is a national program where I speak to students all over the country. As the FAA Ambassador for Aviation and Space Education, I talk to students about careers in aviation, as well as helping them get started on their path to training for those careers. That includes introducing them to AviationStart.org, which I launched in 2025 to connect aspiring aviation professionals with more than $20 million in scholarships.
For the first stop of the 2026-2027 academic year DreamLaunch Tour, I spoke to more than 1,000 kids packed into a high school auditorium. My job was to show them the career opportunities waiting in aviation and aerospace, and how a free exploratory program run by the Flood Group, an aviation- and STEM-based non-profit that operates educational programs in North Carolina, could jumpstart those careers before they ever leave high school.
You Never Know What Grabs Them
One of the most fascinating parts of doing these events is discovering what actually captures an audience’s attention. Every crowd is different. Sometimes it’s “Wait, I can really fly a plane while I’m still in high school?” Sometimes it’s “Airline pilots make HOW much?”
This group of students? They lost their minds over eVTOLs.
The moment I mentioned that commercial air taxi operations are expected to begin in some parts of the world later this year, the energy in the room completely changed. The idea of being a pilot, an engineer, or working on the business side of a brand-new segment of aviation was more intriguing to these students than anything else I presented. I ended up spending another 30 minutes after the presentation going deep into it with a group of students and teachers.
And honestly, I get it. I thought I was flying something futuristic with a propeller on the back of my airplane. These kids are already living in 2030. They don’t see air taxis as science fiction. They see them as the job market they’re about to enter.
If you want a read on where the next generation thinks this industry is headed, that auditorium in Raleigh was a pretty good sample.
The Questions That Matter Most
Then came my favorite part. A handful of students stuck around because they wanted to know exactly how to get started. What their next steps should be. How to access scholarships. All of the questions every aviation-curious kid has when they don’t have a mentor to guide them.
So, of course, I answered every one of them in detail. That’s the whole point.
But here’s the key lesson I’ve learned from these events: Getting the next generation inspired about aviation careers is the easy part. That spark dies out fast if there aren’t real resources and opportunities behind it to help them grow. Inspiration without a next step is just a good high school assembly.
How You Can Help
That’s why at every DreamLaunch event, we collaborate with local aviation groups to connect the students we find with opportunities to continue their journey into our industry. The presentation opens the door. The local community is what walks them through it.
I mention this because if you’re interested in helping the next generation get involved in aviation, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We’d love the help.
And I can promise you, it will be one of the most rewarding things you ever do in aviation.
On to the next waypoint…
Leave a Reply