OSU competition prepares students for real-life aerospace careers

Friday, November 6, 2026

Media Contact: Sydney Trainor | OSU Brand Management | 405-744-9782 | sydney.trainor@okstate.edu

“Dispatch, search team one at station one is ready for briefing.”

That radio transmission signaled the start of competition as high school teams prepared to take flight at the second Fly Forward: Search and Rescue State Championship.

Co-hosted by the Oklahoma State University Aerospace Institute for Research and Education and the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics, the Nov. 4-5 competition brought nearly 70 teams from across the state to Lake Carl Blackwell. There, students navigated simulated search-and-rescue scenarios designed to mirror challenges first responders face in the field.

“The inspiration for this event came from the role drones can play in helping first responders,” said Natalie Noles, OAIRE director of business operations. “As a former dispatcher, I’ve seen how important it is to support emergency response. We wanted to bring real-world scenarios to life through hands-on training. Partnering with the OSU Police Department gives students a chance to build practical workforce skills while learning how drones can support emergency response.”

Teams faced three first responder scenarios: finding an overturned kayaker along the shoreline; locating a lost hiker on one of the many trails at Lake Carl Blackwell; and providing aid to a victim of a snakebite.

Developed in collaboration with OSUPD, Stillwater Medical Center, and LifeNet Emergency Medical Services, the scenarios challenged the students’ ability to pilot, think critically and work as a team. The teams were evaluated on their ability to identify targets and complete the mission efficiently.

“An event like this really helps us see the capabilities of drones and allows us to think outside of the box about how we might be able to use drones to respond to whatever emergency may be thrown at us,” OSUPD Capt. Dan Ray said. “It’s also impactful for us to show students the role they can play in emergency response.”

Compared with last year, the competition expanded from one day to two, featuring both novice and advanced teams.

“Building on last year’s event, we’ve made the course more challenging, both logistically and in the dispatch terminology participants will encounter,” Noles said. We want them to work through a realistic scenario that tests their communication and problem-solving skills.”

Dr. Jenny Peters, lead aviation and aerospace instructor at Pryor High School, brought her team for the second year because she sees the competition as an opportunity for students to develop skills that extend beyond the classroom.

“Learning how to be professional, how to communicate with the team, how to fly the drone, how to troubleshoot certain problems and how to problem-solve in the moment. Those are all skills that students need to have in order to be successful,” Peters said. “Whether they decide to go into industry, go for business on their own or go to Oklahoma State.”

For Peters, it’s about more than developing the student’s technical ability.

“It’s about them learning how to communicate in a team environment and to build those flight skills. ... It gives them a team mindset because I'm doing what is best. I'm doing the best job that I can for the team,” Peters said.

For some students, the competition also offers a glimpse into a potential career.

Jace Forney, a sophomore at Moore High School, was introduced to drones as an eighth grader and imagines a career centered on designing and testing them. For him, this event is an opportunity to gain more experience and work as a team.

“I'm most looking forward to the experience, having fun, being able to test my skills, and everyone else being able to test their skills gets me really excited,” Forney said. “It’s so cool that we can actually come out here and use what we've learned.

The competition also presented challenges that required students to think beyond their initial approach.

“The most challenging thing we've done today was looking for the targets, because you’ve got to think outside the box a little bit. They're not always where you think they're going to be, and so I really that was a little bit of a challenge,” Forney said.

Opportunities like Fly Forward also support a broader need across Oklahoma: developing the next generation of talent for the state's growing aerospace and aviation industry.

As drones and other uncrewed aircraft systems become increasingly important across industries, students who gain early experience with the technology are introduced to career possibilities in aerospace engineering, aviation, public safety and beyond.

According to ODAA, aviation and aerospace generates $52.5 billion in annual economic impact, making it Oklahoma’s second largest and fastest-growing industry.

More than 1,300 aerospace companies and 107 airports help power a sector that continues to expand and create demand for a highly skilled workforce.

As a land-grant institution, OSU’s mission is to translate discovery into action in a way that benefits society. For OAIRE, that mission is fulfilled in part through outreach efforts like this search-and-rescue event and drone workshops that help introduce youth to technologies and career pathways that shape the state’s future.

“Seeing students put what they’ve learned into action, work through a realistic search-and-rescue scenarios and support one another as a team is so important,” Noles said. “The camaraderie is a big part of the event, and it’s exciting to see students build connections while learning how drones can support first responders.”