Aims Community College is using a 50 -thousand dollar state grant to create a mobile aviation lab. The on-wheels educational tool will have VR flight simulators, drones, and activities to teach kids about physics.
Sara Bauermeister is a certified flight instructor at Aims. She said there’s a big need for new pilots.
"Our idea to help promote the growth of the workforce was to target students and people who might not have been previously exposed to aviation," Bauermeister said.
The lab will set up at schools and air shows around Weld County. It may eventually travel up and down the Front Range.
Bauermeister also serves as president of the local Women in Aviation chapter. She's hoping the lab will help pull more young women into the field.
"Women make up only 9 percent of the aviation industry….we want to help increase that number," she said.
Bauermeister started getting interested in aviation in high school. She credits an uncle who worked in the industry.
Bauermeister hopes the lab is ready to roll by next summer.