The Wings Club Foundation Speeds Student to Space
“My dream is that humanity will have space travel on the same scale as our current aviation industry within my lifetime,” says aerospace engineering student Benjamin Mason. Thanks to support from the Wings Club Foundation, he is already helping build that future.
Mason is earning his Aerospace Enginering degree at Embry-Riddle and led the flight division of the Experimental Rocket Propulsion Laboratory in his sophomore and junior years. Students there design and test a liquid-propelled rocket expected to reach 60,000 feet or more—or, as the club puts it, for “propelling our future.”
Hands-on learning fuels a vision that is both bold and disciplined. Mason imagines a time when spaceflight is as accessible and safe as commercial aviation. He also knows that achieving such a future requires both financial and intellectual fuel, and he is grateful that the Wings Club Foundation invested in his ability to push boundaries.
Mason spent his youth dreaming of building the solutions to problems no one else was thinking about. Embry-Riddle transformed those dreams into equations, design reviews and late nights in the lab. “I’ve learned what it takes to make things fly and how collaboration keeps them flying,” he explains.
Beyond the classroom and lab, he mentors underclassmen who share his commitment to aerospace sustainability. His long-term goal is to gain industry experience and launch a startup focused on removing orbital debris. “We have to make room for the future before we can expand into it,” he says. “I want to help humanity get our house in order—up there.”
The scholarship does more than cover tuition. It validates his calling. “Every launch test, every design meeting reminds me that someone believed this mattered. That belief changes everything.”
This summer, Mason interned with CFD Research Corporation, a company advancing national security, aerospace and defense technologies. Working in modeling and simulation, he found it rewarding to apply his coursework to real-world challenges. He strengthened his programming skills in Python and C++, and explored new territory with optimization and guidance algorithms.
Mason’s focus remains on the future, but his mindset extends beyond technology. “You don’t just accept generosity—you try to live up to it,” he says. “You build something worthy of the people who gave you the chance.”
After the Wings Club Foundation awards gala, he reflected on what that support means for a new generation of aerospace professionals. “As a scholarship recipient, it was inspiring to connect with leaders in aviation and aerospace and to celebrate the innovations shaping our industry’s future.”
Soon, Mason will have a hand in shaping that future himself, advancing systems that make regular, responsible spaceflight a reality.