STEM LEARNING:

Advanced Air Mobility: 

Air Taxi Design Challenge

Educator Guide

www.nasa.gov

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
2 | ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY: AIR TAXI DESIGN CHALLENGE (EDUCATOR GUIDE)

OVERVIEW

Objectives Student Prerequisite Knowledge

Standards Materials

Preparation

In this lesson, students use what they know about the science behind quadcopters to participate in a challenge 

to design and build a model of an air taxi. They will be asked to evaluate their final design and the designs of their 

classmates, and then present their final design to the class.

Students will be able to:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of an air taxi based on a 

list of design considerations

• Work in teams using the engineering design process 

to design and build a model of a flying air taxi

• Propose a final design and support their proposal 

with reasoning

Before beginning this lesson, students should be familiar 

with:

• The science behind quadcopters 

(NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 

has a lesson about this as part of the Advanced Air 

Mobility (AAM) STEM Module)

• The engineering design process

Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• NGSS.MS.PS2.A Motion and stability: forces and 

interactions

- Plan an investigation to provide evidence that 

the change in an object’s motion depends on 

the sum of the forces on the object and the 

mass of the object.

Cross Cutting Concepts

• Patterns

Science and Engineering Practices

• Developing and using models

• Constructing explanations and designing solutions

• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating 

information

Each group requires the following materials (that can 

be modified as needed):

• Tape

• Cardstock/cardboard

• Scissors

• Glue

• Paper

• Paper clips

• Craft sticks

• Foil

• Student handout(s)

F Print one student guide for each student

F Gather all materials and place in a central location (or you can give each group a specific amount of each material)
ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY: AIR TAXI DESIGN CHALLENGE (EDUCATOR GUIDE) | 3 

Grouping Students

Teacher Background

This activity can be completed either as a team or 

individually, depending on time and preference. Grouping 

strategies during the design challenge can be used to 

efficiently break up student tasks, help promote student 

engagement, and appeal to a variety of learning styles 

and student strengths. To maximize student input within 

groups, it is recommended that students individually 

develop and create a sketch of a design before getting 

into groups. Here are some recommended group roles for 

this activity:

• Project manager—keeps the team on task, asks 

clarifying questions of the teacher, and assists in all 

group tasks.

• Drafter/sketch artist—makes technical drawings of 

the proposed, built, and final designs and assists in 

all group tasks.

• Technical writer—records how the design meets the 

requirements and assists in all group tasks.

• Engineer—collects materials, coordinates the building of the model, consults earlier assignments/activities as needed to inform the design process, and 

assists in all group tasks.

• Spokesperson—shares the group’s design with the 

class (explaining how it meets the requirements and 

justifying the group’s design choice) and assists in 

all group tasks.

A country’s airspace is defined as the portion of the 

atmosphere controlled by that country. To ensure 

the safety of aircraft traveling through United States 

airspace, a nationwide air traffic control system 

has been put in place. NASA played a major role 

in developing and implementing this system and 

remains active in helping the transition to a new 

modernized air traffic control system. For decades, 

the United States has used a radar-based system but 

is currently transitioning to a satellite-based system 

that will make air travel safer and more efficient.

Apart from takeoff and landing, the planes and 

helicopters flying in the airspace usually fly at high 

altitudes. They are usually powered by petroleum 

based fuels and travel long distances. Now, 

however, a new generation of aircraft has begun to 

arrive. These new aircraft are smaller, fly lower than 

traditional aircraft, are electrically powered, and cover 

relatively short distances. They range in size from 

small quadcopter style drones up to vertical takeoff 

and landing (VTOL) vehicles capable of carrying people. Because of the nature of these aircraft, our air traffic control 

system cannot effectively control them. They are too small and they fly at low altitudes in both urban and rural areas. 

These factors impede the ability to track the aircraft using radar signals.

Figure 1. Air traffic in the future will include higher quantities of 

smaller vehicles than today’s air traffic. 

Credit: NASA, Lillian Gipson
4 | ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY: AIR TAXI DESIGN CHALLENGE (EDUCATOR GUIDE)

TEACHER DIRECTIONS

According to recent NASA-commissioned market studies, by 2030 there will be as many as 500 million flights per 

year for package delivery services and 750 million flights per year for air taxi/metro services. AAM is the air traffic 

management system that helps ensure this new airspace is safe and efficient.

Air taxis are small, battery powered VTOL aircraft that transport between two to five passengers at a time. They can 

transport passengers within a city, around urban areas, or between the two. When operating in urban areas, landing and 

taking off from a street is not realistic. Instead, locations for these aircraft to fly to and from will need to be established. 

One concept is a series of vertiports, locations where aircraft can land and take off vertically, located throughout the city. 

These can be standalone buildings or built on rooftops of existing buildings.

Safety, environmental impact, noise level, and consumer confidence are all critical for air taxis to become a viable mode 

of transportation. NASA and its partners continue to work on developing and improving air taxis in all of these areas.

1. Use a warm-up or other method to engage students in discussion about AAM. Refrain from showing students 

videos or pictures depicting conceptual designs for air taxis, as this could impact student designs. The student 

guide’s “Background” section is intentionally vague to prevent bias to students’ design decisions.

2. Introduce the students to the concept of battery-powered air taxis capable of carrying up to five passengers.

3. 3.Lead the class in a brainstorming session to establish the requirements for an air taxi (safety, environmental 

impact, noise, urban and rural accessibility, etc.). Synthesize ideas to develop a list of requirements each design 

must meet. It is important to include passenger capacity and power source as requirements. Limit the final list 

to these two and up to five more requirements, so as not to overwhelm students. Questions to help you facilitate 

these questions are included on the next page. These questions are not the only possible requirements that 

students might want to address.

4. Have students work independently, using pages 1 and 2 of the student guide, to conceptualize an air taxi that 

meets the requirements.

5. Place students into groups.

6. Each team member should share their design with the group. Once all members of a group have shared, the 

team should work together to develop a design. It can have components from all or some of the group members’ 

individual designs.

7. Give groups about 20 minutes to design and sketch their air taxi, ensuring it meets each of the requirements.

8. Since these designs and the final models will not be operationally testable, pair up groups and have them share 

with each other. Encourage groups to question each other so any design weaknesses can be determined and 

addressed.
ADVANCED AIR MOBILITY: AIR TAXI DESIGN CHALLENGE (EDUCATOR GUIDE) | 5 

9. Give students about 20 minutes to redesign as necessary. Each group should then sketch, explain, and build a 

model of their final design.

10. Give each group 3 minutes to have their spokesperson share their design with the class.

11. After each group has shared their design, have students individually answer the reflection questions found in the 

student guide.

12. If time permits, show the students examples of air taxi designs that are being considered or produced. An 

internet search will provide examples. Have the students see how these designs compare with the ones they 

designed.

IDEAS FOR AIR TAXI REQUIREMENTS

• Passenger capacity—Is it a single passenger air taxi or can it carry more?

• Power source—Gas burning combustion engines create a great deal of pollution and there are likely to be many air 

taxis. Which alternative power source is the way to go?

• How will it land and takeoff? Keep in mind that in a city, there aren’t runways, so it needs to land and takeoff 

vertically (like a helicopter).

• How large will it be? This is related to passenger capacity, but it’s important to think about overall size, especially 

given the crowded nature of urban environments.

• Speed and range—How far does it need to travel? How fast can it go to get there? Would the system to allow 

vertical landing and takeoff be able to move it fast enough?

• Safety requirements—What happens if it loses power while flying? How can it avoid obstacles and other vehicles? 

How can passengers get on and off safely if there are rotating propellers?

• Noise level—How can the noise it creates be controlled?

• Location—Is it urban, rural, or will it fly in both locations? What weather or terrain obstacles would the location 

present?
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