Experience replaced classroom theory for four Springville Composite Squadron 126 Cadets as they took to the blue skies on a cloudless on a recent Friday morning at Shelby County Airport in Calera, Alabama.
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Central Alabama Senior Squadron AL 132 gave cadet orientation rides in a CAP Cessna 182 single-engine plane as part of the cadets Aerospace Education training flights.
The purpose of the orientation flights is to stimulate the cadet's interest in and knowledge of aviation and aerospace activities. The cadets who fly in the front seat with Senior Pilot Captain Ronald Allen had the opportunity to take the controls and experience how it feels to fly the planes.
Capt. Ronnie Allen, CMSGT Cody McCay, CMSGT Shayla McCay, AB Alyssa Tillman, AB Ashley Tillman, AB Joshua Tillman- image courtesy of 2nd Lt. Rhonda Pyatt, Public Affairs Officer- Central Alabama Squadron AL 132
Cadet Joshua Tillman arrived at the Shelby County Airport with an ear-to-ear grin and said," I am full with anticipation, more nervous than scared. I have only flown once before but I am ready to go again." Tillman had a couple of hours to anticipate his flight since he was scheduled in the last of four one-hour sorties.
The cadets were required to attend a briefing on airport safety by Captain Allen. They also learned about CAP, Emergency Services, aerodynamics, center of gravity, weight and balance and other aviation topics while the other cadets were flying. Planes in a static display were used to demonstrate the details of a pre-flight.
Capt. Allen believes even if the cadets don't pursue a career in the Air Force, the flights can provide other benefits in life and the classroom. "If the kids are taking physics, something like Bernoulli's principle can seem a little abstract," Capt. Allen said. But when they actually get a chance to learn about weight and balance of an aircraft, it gives them a practical application.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 54 lives in fiscal year 2011. Visit http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/ or http://www.capvolunteernow.com/ for more information. -Special to Alabama Aviator by Capt. Ronnie Allen and 2nd Lt. Rhonda Pyatt, Public Affairs Officer