November 5th, 2025, The West Boca Aviation Academy went to Boynton Beach High School to expand their minds on the aviation industry. Boynton Beach High had a fun day filled with aviation events and a nice catered lunch for all the students. The day started off at 9:30 when we departed from West Boca, and went to the first location, the Boca Raton Airport’s viewing deck. There, the students were able to see planes take off and land. After that, the students went up to Boynton Beach for a BASA (Boynton Aerospace Science Academy) & ERAU (Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University) Admissions visit.
The itinerary was
- 10:30 – Arrival
- 10:45-11:20 the students were split into 2 groups: one Aviation and Business, and the other Engineering & Robotics.
- At 12- 12:45 students got a lunch break
- At 12:50-1:45 students got to listen to Adrienne Ravizzoli an Embry-Riddle speaker, who spoke about Admissions, scholarships, and degrees
- At 2pm the West Boca students departed for Boca.
Some of the topics that were mentioned in the Engineering & Robotics track were requirements for being a pilot. Private pilots can fly anywhere in the world pretty much just like commercial pilots. Both groups got to use drones and collaborate with each other. Another topic that they discussed was the pathway from the Aviation Academy to becoming a pilot. BASA’s Aviation Director, Dr. Mitchell, explained how, after taking AS121, a course students take senior year, you are covered to take your private pilot written exam. After passing the written exam, you have to get 40 flight hours in order to actually get your Private Pilot license. Both West Boca and Boynton Beach High School’s aviation academies are partnered with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and they advocate for their students to attend and be part of the Aviation Industry. Once in college, you need to continue racking up flight hours and knowledge to get your commercial pilot license, which requires 250 flight hours. Once you get this license, a lot of people become flight instructors to get the next 750-1250 hours needed to get your ATP license (750 if you get a degree from an approved college).
Boynton Beach High School was very open and nice to us the entire trip. Most students who attend the academy take 2 aviation classes per year. One student whom I talked to has his private pilot sign-off for the test, as well as his drone license. When walking around their campus, you can see they have planes in every classroom, flight simulators everywhere, tens of thousands of dollars in drones, 3d printers, and even a wind tunnel. This school also came 32nd and 43rd in the international underwater drone competition. The next academy field trip will be on November 19th, going to tour Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.
