Three Tampa Bay brothers who recently won an FAA student airport design competition made a special visit to Tampa International Airport last week to meet their real-life engineering counterparts.
The Patel brothers – Shaan, 16; Sahil, 15; and Krishiv, 13 – came to TPA on January 10 to meet members of the Airport Planning and Development team and present their winning entry in the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Design Challenge.
They also got a special behind-the-scenes tour of TPA, including the Airport Operations Center, SkyCenter One office building, airfield and baggage handling system.
It was a dream come true for a trio of true aviation fans.
“Growing up, I used to love making model airports and collecting model planes,” Shaan Patel said. “Now planes have become a part of me, and I love it so much. Being able to come to TPA and see all this after all our effort is fantastic.”
The Airport Design Challenge is an annual competition in which students from Kindergarten through 12th grade design virtual airports in Minecraft based on guidance from FAA aerospace and engineering experts.
Categories are split between K-6th and 7th-12th for both Primary and Non-Primary Airports. The Shahs won first place in the Primary Airport design category for grades 7-12, calling their team the Aviator Bros.
Students who sign up for the program meet aviation professionals, engage with other designers and learn about the aviation industry. The designers are encouraged (but not required) to focus on a local airport to more easily learn about FAA specifications for their airport designs, with instructional modules on topics such as airport layout, pavement and lighting, structures and ideas for innovative growth.
The Patels, who live in Lutz, chose Tampa International Airport as the basis for their design, adding more details to expand what their airport offered. They included unique restaurants, a garden and observation deck on top of the Economy Parking Garage, and easy access to a cargo port with a base for delivery drones as part of the airport.
