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GEAR logo A Chapter of Women in Aviation International

Global Explorers of Aerospace Revolution (GEAR-UK)
Empowering the Next Generation in Aviation, Aerospace & STEM

Inspiring young people through aviation, aerospace, engineering, leadership and STEM opportunities across the world.

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What drives us

Mission, vision & values

Vision

GEAR pictures a sky with no barriers to entry — where a career in aviation or aerospace is possible for anyone, no matter where they start.

Mission

We invest in the next generation of aviation and aerospace talent, build a clear route from the classroom into real careers, and inspire every young person to picture a future in this industry. Bringing new people in isn't just good practice — it's what keeps aviation safe and able to keep innovating.

Values
  • Open to all — we welcome everyone with an interest in aviation and aerospace, regardless of background, identity or ability
  • Welcome, support, inspire — our approach in three words
  • Hands-on — building, flying and testing, not just talking about it
  • One shared passion — what brings us together matters more than what sets us apart
Our impact

The flight log so far

0%Free for students
0Minimum age we serve
0Maximum age we serve
0Next GIAD UK celebration
Coming up

Save the date

19 SEP
2026

GIAD × AirTanker — Aviation & Defence Day

A full day in a real working aviation environment at RAF Brize Norton, built for young people aged 13–18. Places are limited and allocated through partner schools.

Register See all events
Moments from GEAR

Real events, real people

A room full of teenage girls at a careers talk and Q&A session A packed room at our latest careers talk A woman presenting at a podium to a seated audience Sharing real careers advice, in person A large wall mural of an aircraft nose and engine inside a UK aviation venue Inside one of our partner venues

See the full gallery

Latest news

From the flight deck

2026 GEAR partners with AirTanker for GIAD 2026 → 2025 Careers talks draw a packed room →

Read all news

Ready for departure?

Help a young person find their wings.

Join as a member, volunteer as a mentor, or sponsor an event. Every contribution puts another young person on the path to the sky.

Join GEAR Donate Volunteer
Welcome to GEAR

Aviation belongs to everyone. We make sure young people know it.

GEAR — Global Explorers of Aerospace Revolution — is a UK-registered chapter of Women in Aviation International®. Once focused solely on girls, GEAR is now all-inclusive: we bring Girls in Aviation Day, school workshops and industry partnerships to communities across the UK, showing every young person that the sky is a workplace with a seat reserved in their name.

  • Girls in Aviation Day events across the UK
  • A partnership with AirTanker at RAF Brize Norton
  • Hands-on STEM: flight, rockets, drones and space
  • Mentoring by professionals working in aviation and aerospace

Get in touch

A woman presenting at a podium to a seated conference audience
Our impact

The flight log so far

0%Free for students
0Minimum age we serve
0Maximum age we serve
0Next GIAD UK celebration
Meet the team

The people behind GEAR

SC

Salome Cupid

President
CA

Caroline Attack

Vice President
LC

Loveness Chipangura

Secretary
CC

Candra Cupid

Treasurer
NM

Nyasha Manyika

Outreach C.P.
TK

Tawanda Kadenge

Director
NC

Natsai Chiremba

Founding Member
Sponsors & partners

Flying with the support of

Become a sponsor

Testimonials

In their own words

Before Girls in Aviation Day I didn't know girls could be pilots. Now I know exactly which subjects I need to study.

Student · GIAD attendee

Our pupils met women in uniform who said "this was me at your age." No textbook can do that.

Teacher · Partner school

Volunteering with GEAR is the most rewarding day of my year. These young people ask brilliant questions.

Volunteer mentor
Events

Now boarding

Our upcoming events. Registration is free — reserve your place by email, or follow our Facebook page for announcements.

GEAR · Departures (Upcoming) ● Live
DateEventLocationStatus
19 SEP 2026GIAD at Brize NortonAirTanker Hub, RAF Brize NortonRegister
17 OCT 2026Park Run/Walk — Battersea ParkBattersea Park, London · Connect with GEAR-UK & fundraiseDetails to follow
11 DEC 2026Humanitarian Outreach & Career DayShape Life Centre, Mariakani, KenyaReg form to follow
21 MAY 2027Outreach — KigaliKigali, RwandaDetails to follow
GEAR chapter announcement graphic confirming we are celebrating Girls in Aviation Day again this year
Our announcement
Women in Aviation International Save the Date flyer for the 12th Annual Girls in Aviation Day, 19 September 2026
Official WAI Save the Date
AirTanker Girls in Aviation Day flyer for RAF Brize Norton, ages 13 to 18
AirTanker partner day

Places for the RAF Brize Norton day are limited and allocated through partner schools and organisations — register early. See our latest news for stories and photos from recent events.

GEAR · Arrivals (Past events) 2026
DateEventLocation
2026Career Day — The Green Garden SchoolsKikuyu, Kenya
2026WAI Connect — GEAR UKLondon, United Kingdom

WAI Connect — London

GEAR UK joined Women in Aviation International's WAI Connect event in London, meeting members and friends of the wider WAI network.

Career Day — The Green Garden Schools, Kenya

GEAR joined Career Day at The Green Garden Schools in Kikuyu, Kenya, talking to students about life in aviation alongside a panel of other industry professionals.

Girls in Aviation Day 2026

One day. Thousands of futures.

Girls in Aviation Day is Women in Aviation International's global celebration for girls aged 8–18. In 2026 we're partnering with AirTanker at RAF Brize Norton for our biggest UK celebration yet. Follow us for further venue announcements.

Register your school Volunteer
–Days
–Hours
–Mins
–Secs
Start young, dream big

Every career starts with a little imagination

A young girl smiling in an aircraft cockpit, wearing a pilot headset

From the cockpit seat, the controls look complicated — but every professional pilot started exactly here, asking questions and taking it all in.

A child in a colourful helmet and jumpsuit, arms out, high above the clouds

Aerospace careers aren't just about aircraft — they're about anyone who's ever looked up and wondered what it would feel like to fly.

A child sitting in a cardboard box with cardboard wings, pretending to fly, with chalk drawings of a rocket and clouds behind

A cardboard box and a bit of imagination today. A real flight deck, launchpad or workshop tomorrow — that's exactly what GEAR is here for.

Aviation Career Explorer

100+ ways to work in the sky

Aviation is far bigger than the cockpit. Explore careers with salary ranges, the school subjects you'll need, university pathways, scholarships and real role models.

Airline Pilot

Command commercial aircraft on routes around the world.

Ask us about this path →

Aircraft Engineer

Keep aircraft safe, serviced and ready to fly.

Ask us about this path →

Air Traffic Controller

Direct the flow of aircraft safely through busy skies.

Ask us about this path →

Drone Pilot

Fly uncrewed aircraft for film, survey, delivery and rescue.

Ask us about this path →

Space Scientist

Research rockets, satellites and life beyond Earth.

Ask us about this path →

Aviation Meteorologist

Forecast the weather that shapes every flight plan.

Ask us about this path →

Flight Dispatcher

Plan routes, fuel and timings from the operations room.

Ask us about this path →

Airport Security

Protect passengers, crew and aircraft on the ground.

Ask us about this path →

Discover more at WAI.org

Latest news

News & events

Our latest news and updates on the events we've taken part in.

AirTanker Girls in Aviation Day flyer for RAF Brize Norton, ages 13 to 18

GEAR partners with AirTanker for GIAD 2026

We're teaming up with AirTanker at RAF Brize Norton for a full day of aviation and defence careers. Students will spend the day in a real working aviation environment, taking part in hands-on activities and gaining insight into the range of career opportunities available — built for young people aged 13–18, with places allocated through partner schools and organisations.

Partnership
A volunteer photographer documenting students building model aircraft at a STEM workshop

Building and testing: our STEM workshops

Students designed, built and tested their own model aircraft as part of our hands-on UK STEM programme — getting a genuine feel for the kind of problem-solving that goes on behind the scenes in aerospace engineering, long before anything leaves the ground.

Workshop
A room full of teenage girls at a careers talk and Q&A session

Careers talks draw a packed room

Our latest UK schools careers session filled the room, with students queuing up to ask about life in aviation — from the qualifications needed to get started, through to what a normal working day actually looks like across different roles in the industry.

Careers Talk
Gallery & Media Centre

More from the ground and the sky

A few more moments from our UK events that didn't fit elsewhere on the site. Tap anything to view it full-size.

Video highlights

More photos

More on our Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.

Volunteer with GEAR

Be the person who shows a young person the sky is a workplace.

GEAR runs entirely on volunteers — mentors, event-day helpers, school liaisons and industry partners who give a few hours a year to change a young person's sense of what's possible.

A volunteer photographer documenting students building model aircraft at a STEM workshop

Event Day Volunteer

Help run a Girls in Aviation Day — welcoming students, running activity stations, taking photos, or being an extra pair of hands. No aviation background needed, just enthusiasm.

A woman presenting at a podium to a seated audience

Mentor

Working in aviation, aerospace or STEM? Share your career story, answer questions, and check in with a student a few times a year as they think through their own path.

A room full of teenage girls at a careers talk and Q&A session

School Liaison

Teachers and school staff: help us bring Girls in Aviation Day, career talks or STEM workshops to your students, and coordinate registrations from your school.

A panel of women from aviation and defence careers speaking to an audience at an AirTanker event

Corporate & Sponsor Partner

Organisations can sponsor an event, host a visit, provide venues or materials, or release staff to volunteer — like our partnership with AirTanker at RAF Brize Norton.

Roles working directly and unsupervised with under-18s require a DBS check — see our safeguarding policy for details.

Become a volunteer

Contact us

Get in touch

Whatever brought you here — joining, volunteering, a school visit, a sponsorship, or a career question — this is the place.

Contact details

Send us a message

Fill in the form and it'll come straight to our inbox.

Safeguarding

Our safeguarding policy

GEAR works directly with children and young people. Their safety and wellbeing comes before anything else we do — every event, every workshop, every volunteer.

Our commitment

GEAR is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people (anyone under 18) who take part in our events, workshops and programmes, and expects everyone connected with GEAR — trustees, staff, volunteers, mentors and partner organisations — to share that commitment.

Designated Safeguarding Lead

GEAR has a named Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) responsible for handling any concerns raised about a child's welfare, and for making sure this policy is followed at every event.
Nyasha Manyika, Designated Safeguarding Lead — +44 7471 406788

Recruitment and checks

Anyone volunteering in a role that involves direct, unsupervised contact with under-18s is required to hold an appropriate, up-to-date DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check before working with young people at a GEAR event. References are sought for all regular volunteers and staff, and every volunteer receives a safeguarding briefing before their first event.

Code of conduct

At every event, staff and volunteers are expected to:

  • Treat all children and young people with respect and dignity
  • Never be alone with a child in a closed or private space
  • Avoid any form of physical punishment or inappropriate physical contact
  • Listen to and take seriously anything a young person tells them
  • Report any concern immediately, however small it may seem

Photography and consent

We ask for parent or guardian consent before photographing or filming any child at a GEAR event, and before using any image on this website or our social media. If you would like an image of your child removed from our website or social channels, contact us and we will act promptly.

Reporting a concern

If you have a safeguarding concern about a child connected to GEAR — whether it relates to something at one of our events or a wider welfare concern — please contact our Designated Safeguarding Lead, Nyasha Manyika, on +44 7471 406788, or reach us at gearwai.chapter@gmail.com marked "Safeguarding — Urgent". If a child is in immediate danger, contact the police on 999.

Policy review

This policy is reviewed periodically by GEAR's trustees.
Last reviewed: 1 July 2026 · Next review: 20 June 2028

This page sets out our general approach and commitment to safeguarding. It is not a substitute for our full internal safeguarding procedures, which are available on request.