It can be very difficult to talk about yourself and your accomplishments. Often we don’t truly understand how impressive our accomplishments are because we’re so focused on reaching the finish line. But when we finally get the chance to talk about the process and the many steps we must take to achieve our final goals, it becomes clear that we do great things at every stage of a project.
This is why the UAS4STEM Preliminaries are an important part of the months-long competition. By the time the teams reach this stage of competition in late April, they’ve been working for months to program their drone and prepare for their team presentation. And the AMA Education Team and guest judges love the UAS4STEM Preliminaries; we get the chance to see what impressive things the teams have done and are able to recognize all of their hard work thus far.
Seventeen teams participated in the UAS4STEM 2024 Preliminary Competition across both the Beginner and Advanced Divisions. Ten teams participated in the Beginner Division, and seven participated in the Advanced Division.
These teams are from all over the United States; we had teams from New York to Hawaii and everywhere in between!
Please note that all teams listed below are listed in alphabetical order, and not in order of placement.
The teams that participated within the Beginner Division are the AEROHatchlings (Knoxville, TN), Adobo Racers (Waipahu, HI), Corntographers (Yorktown Heights, NY), Cranes Fly Together (Bloomfield Hills, MI), The Flying Nuggets (Decatur, GA), MC Flyers (Decatur, AL), McIntosh Aeronautics Beginner Team (Peach Tree, GA), Redstone Bravo (Huntsville, AL), Watermelon Warriors (Stilwell, KS), and 55 Knights (Great Falls, VA).
The teams that participated within the Advanced Division are the AEROHawks (Knoxville, TN), Bumblebees (Hawthorn Woods, IL), McIntosh Aeronautics Advanced Team (Peach Tree, GA), Midtown Mavericks (Atlanta, GA), Redstone Alpha (Huntsville, AL), Some Assembly Required (Rockville, MD), and St. Mary’s CAP (Hollywood, MD).
The top-scoring teams from each division are invited to compete in the International Competition in July at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI. Again, qualifying teams below are listed in alphabetical order, not in placement within the competition.
The teams who have been invited to attend the UAS4STEM Finals to compete in the Beginner Division are: the Bumblebees, Midtown Mavericks, Redstone Alpha, Some Assembly Required, and St. Mary’s CAP.
The teams invited to attend the UAS4STEM Finals to compete in the Advanced Division are: AERO Hatchlings, Corntographers, the Flying Nuggets, Redstone Bravo, and 55 Knights.
We would like to congratulate teams that participated in the Preliminary Competition who are not advancing to Finals. All the teams did amazing work, and they were able to prove how much time and effort they put into their drone and FRR. We encourage all UAS4STEM teams to continue working hard and preparing for their next steps-whether that is competing at Finals at AirVenture, preparing to compete in the 2025 UAS4STEM competition, or heading off into their own personal journeys to explore aviation in unique ways!
We would like to take a moment to thank our guest judges for this year’s UAS4STEM Preliminary Competition: Ben Scholer (DroneDeploy), Rebecca Lehman (DroneDeploy), Titus Sanders (OBAP), Shalyn Drake (Utah State University), Christopher Yanni (FAA), and Ronald Gendron (FAA).
The 2024 UAS4STEM International Finals will be held from Monday, July 22nd through Wednesday, July 24th at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the UAS4STEM Competition, please contact the AMA Education Team at Education@modelaircraft.org. We will be happy to help you in any way we can!
Next stop: AirVenture! We’re hoping for only clear skies and perfect flights!