STEM Academy students will get to experience what it’s like to fly an electric aircraft on Tuesday, October 11th.

BETA Technologies, a Burlington-based electric aerospace company, will be bringing a flight simulator. The company was founded in 2017 by an Essex High School graduate, Kyle Clark.

Lea Ann Smith, the leader of the STEM Academy, set up the experience through a connection at Beta Technologies. She explained that a lot of the opportunities that STEM students have come through her conversations with local professionals.

In addition to the flight simulator, students will get to explore mobile displays of an electric motor, flight controller, and batteries. Students will spend around half an hour exploring the simulation and displays. 

It is also an opportunity to learn about engineering, software, and more.

“Beta Technologies is a really cool place. It’s an entrepreneurially-minded local business… I’m hoping students take away some things from that business model… [and] possibly visualize yourself going from here to that, [like Clark],” Smith said. 

Smith hopes that students can use the experience to see if engineering-related careers are something they might want to pursue. 

“Engineering in general is a good industry,” Smith said. “Aerospace engineering, and this kind of electrically-focused aerospace engineering especially, seems really cool to me. It’s very forward thinking, very focused on the environment and using creativity and engineering to solve problems that are important to us all.”

Even if students are not set on studying engineering, they may want to consider attending. 

“I think people who are curious about design [should attend],” Smith said. “People who are curious about clever ways to solve climate issues. People who are interested in engineering in general; you like building things but you don’t quite know how exactly you might want to do that, and you will see a way that building creativity and design has resulted in an actual product.”

The event will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Space is limited, and students will pre-register. While the event is intended for STEM Academy students, interested students who are not in the STEM Academy can reach out to Smith to see if there is space available. The deadline to register is Friday, October 7th.