LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Students in Kentucky are changing the aerospace industry. High school and college students in Louisville are working to build an electric-powered airplane.

What You Need To Know

  • Bowman Skunk Works in Louisville introduces students to aviation

  • The group has built four planes since 2017 

  • They are currently working on an electric-powered prototype 

  • Aerospace is one of the Commonwealth’s largest industries. According to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Economic Development, the state is home to over 100 aerospace related facilities that employ over 23,000 people

Marc Nadmid is drilling his way into the future of aviation and his career. 

“This is a really good opportunity to get into the whole industry,” said Marc Nadmid, a student at the University of Louisville.

He is an electrical engineering major at UofL, working on his capstone project of designing an electric plane.

“I guess the biggest thing in electric engineering that most people know is like battery making and especially car batteries and things like that, but this is like, I think the next step, like, you know, aerial like motor batteries,” he said. 

Nadmid is researching how to make a battery that can meet weight and size restrictions but still have enough energy to power the plane.

“There’s not like a whole lot of information like we can just cheat and google how to make an airplane like with an electric engine, right? So it’s a lot of like actual research and development,” he said. 

Keith Aultman, the president of Bowman Skunk Works, said an electric plane will allow more students to get their license to fly.

“Money gets in the way. So we’re trying to reduce that substantially with the electric motor project. I think we can,” said Keith Aultman. 

Since Bowman Skunk Works began in 2017, high school and college students have built four planes under Aultman’s mentorship, a former UPS mechanic in Louisville.

“It’s nice. I like helping; helping other folks and give them an opportunity to make a choice in their life that maybe aviation could be in their career,” said Aultman. 

Even though Nadmid is designing the plane, he said if the plane is done before the end of his semester, he isn’t sure if he wants to ride in it.

“I honestly might not want to because, you know, I’m the one you know, I know all the science. I’ve developed it and even then there’s still that that aspect of like, oh, what if I messed up, you know, kind of thing,” Nadmid said.

They hope to have a flying prototype in a year.

Aerospace is one of the Commonwealth’s largest industries. According to Kentucky’s Cabinet for Economic Development, the state is home to over 100 aerospace related facilities that employ over 23,000 people.

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