Discovering a Path: How Flight Club 502 Helped Aranea Taylor Soar

Aranea Taylor, a senior at Louisville’s Pathfinder School of Innovation, is on a mission. Two years ago, as she began searching for career opportunities in aerospace engineering, she discovered Flight Club 502 through an email from an international “Girls in Aviation” event. The moment she heard about our Carbon Cub build, she knew she had to get involved.

Her journey started with ground school, learning the fundamentals, but it was in the workshop that she truly found her calling. As part of the Carbon Club, she spent her summer immersed in a hands-on build, working under the guidance of our mentors. She learned to take instructions, problem-solve on her own by reading the manuals, and gain confidence in her ability to build an aircraft from the ground up.

While she came to the club for engineering skills, she gained so much more. Taking on a role as a club officer, she expanded her knowledge into areas like finance, marketing, and fundraising. “I gained confidence in learning, determination to push through the build and persist!” she says. She learned not to give up, no matter how difficult a project seemed. Her most rewarding memory wasn’t a build milestone, but the August 2025 raffle event, where she met new people, networked, and even spoke on camera for the first time.

When asked to describe Flight Club 502 in one word, Aranea chose “Free-willed.” For her, the club is a place to be free, literally and figuratively. She advises anyone thinking about joining, “Even if you are not interested in aviation, there are so many programs you can join to meet friends and help out with your college readiness.” She plans to stay involved even after college, calling the club her “home away from home.”

Aranea passionately believes in supporting the club’s raffles, a cause she says is directly tied to her experience. The proceeds, she notes, help the club get “more space, a hangar with air conditioning, more materials, more helping hands, more teachers, more PPE,” and ultimately, allow more young people to discover a life-changing passion.

“Buying a ticket will further education and offer the pre-college experience that a lot of kids don’t get,” Aranea says. “It helps with building our careers and for kids to do something that they like.”