Air Camp

Giving back is a need in all of us and takes on many forms.  For some, it is the act of making a meal for someone who is in a tough place; for others, it is the act of inspiring or giving a different perspective to someone figuring out their path.

The restorer and I had been asked to volunteer at a one-day camp held at a local airport, Greene County (I19) for high school girls.

Over the course of the day, the participants would solder, fly a simulator, plan a flight, group problem-solve, ask questions of a panel of women in STEM roles, and fly an airplane under the supervision of a flight instructor.

The event held the week after Girls in Aviation Day, was geared exclusively towards girls but Air Camp also holds events for boys and girls throughout the year.

An airport friend whom I have attended Oshkosh with several times has been involved with Air Camp for some time and had asked us to help out. 

Several of our other airport friends had volunteered in the past and were continuing to do so this year; the restorer and I were excited to join them.

The morning started off with fog forecasted to burn off by 10 a.m.  As flying was part of the day for the participants, there was concern about when it would occur.

I acted as one of four flight leads helping the 40 participants from one module to another throughout the day.

The flight school chief pilot gave the participants an overview of airplane operations and ramp safety indicating what they could expect during their flight after the fog burnt off. 

As the participants would be acting as crewmembers while flying, weather and positive exchange of controls were discussed as part of the briefing.  The participants were talked through what occurs when flight controls are exchanged between pilots. 

The pilot relinquishing control tells the pilot taking control they have the flight controls then the pilot who is taking control confirms they have the flight controls and lastly the pilot who has relinquished control confirms the pilot has the controls to close the loop.

She encouraged the participants to take pictures during the day and to strike superhero poses with their hands on hips feet splayed slightly displaying confidence in themselves. 

Soldering

After the briefing, I walked my flight down to the soldering module.  Several girls were excited about that in particular, one proudly showing off a recent scar from soldering at home. 

The restorer was one of four volunteers assisting participants with their projects; a bug that would light up.

One of the other volunteers at the soldering module was a woman who was building a computer.   Seeing her as someone capable of being technically advanced in skill but still being true to who she is by mentioning a recipe in a cookbook she loved in conversation while soldering was empowering for me to see as well as the girls.

Watching each participant make a bug that has eyes that light up was inspiring to me as well. Over the course of the day, lights would blink from inside their bags as the bug would accidentally activate. 

Aviation STEM Challenge

My flight’s second module was the aviation STEM challenge.  Introduced by a woman whose career allowed her to fly in military aircraft such as the F-14 Tomcat as a civilian. 

Due to her stature, she had to make the choice if she was going to see outside of the airplane or be able to reach the flight controls as the seats were not adjustable.  Her solution was to put a telephone book on the seat, giving her enough advantage to reach the rudder pedals and slightly see the outside of the airplane.

The participants divided themselves into smaller groups and were asked to come up with a device to allow the smallest member of their group to reach the flight controls.  The module required them to stay within a budget of $15 to purchase items like cardboard and popsicle sticks to create their prototypes. 

It isn’t just military airplanes that preclude smaller-stature persons from flying with ease; antique and vintage airplanes have the same issues. 

I need a booster seat to see over the instrument panel of Sis.  Luckily, the rudder pedals move otherwise those could be an issue too. 

One of the other flight leaders who flies a Rearwin Skyranger amongst other antique aircraft mentioned she has gotten used to sitting in an airplane and saying this is what her sight picture will be today figuring out how she will in her words ‘make it work’ to reach the rudder pedals and see outside. 

One of the groups designed a hand extension using tongue depressors and rubber bands to allow for grasping controls.  Another devised an extender that can be placed on the rudder pedals to give complete control of the aircraft.

As the fog burned off close to 11 a.m., during what would have been the first flight’s time to fly, the camp adjusted the length of time everyone flew slightly to allow for them to fly later in the day. 

Simulators and Flying

After lunch, my flight had time in simulators as well as flying in airplanes with an instructor.  As the group was broken up in half, to either fly in the simulator or to fly in airplanes then to swap activities.

The first group going into the airplanes was excited and asked ahead of time if they would be able to take off and land the airplane.  I suggested they would be able to talk with the flight instructor they were going to fly with about what would happen. 

The trailer holding the computer-based simulators held six stations each consisting of a computer, keyboard, and mouse along with a yoke and throttle quadrant and rudder pedals sitting in front of three monitors to simulate the view outside of the airplane with one more monitor just below the outside view to show the instrument panel. 

There were two technicians on hand to show the participants how to fly the simulators. 

As simulators are more sensitive than the airplanes they represent, it can become frustrating when learning how to operate the controls in response to what is being represented. 

While I did not have experience with the simulators being used, I do have experience with the sight picture needed and what the instruments should read for maneuvers.  As such the coordinators felt it would be helpful for me to give support and encouragement to the participants while they were flying the simulators.

Several participants were successfully doing flight maneuvers while some others were uncertain of what the instruments should look like during each phase. 

Encouraging them to look at the horizon for reference during turns along with the artificial horizon to double check what they are getting the airplane to do made several girls feel more confident on what they were already doing and to press forward on to the landings. 

Watching them go from being uncertain to landing the airplane successfully was beyond inspiring!

Seeing the airport, we could see the lights to the side of the runway and the aiming points on the runway it was pointing them to.   

I relayed the advice I had gotten from my dad and first flight instructor ages ago, pick a spot to aim for on the runway and keep looking there.

Look outside to that spot then inside to the instruments and back out to the intended landing spot.

Reduce the throttle and get about a 500-foot per-minute descent on the vertical speed indicator then adjust as needed. 

Encouraging them they were doing better than they thought and to keep going, just a little further – the runway was almost there.  Each of the participants landed successfully at least once – most multiple times.

As my flight rotated out and on to their last module, which was flight planning, I was asked to sit with a participant from another flight with the hope they would feel comfortable enough with the simulator they would fly as they were apprehensive.

The participant had crashed a simulator previously and was concerned she would do the same thing in the airplane.  We talked about her experience while she was flying the simulator and she got more comfortable with the controls and what the simulator was doing. 

We talked about what the simulator was showing us and what the airplane would do that was different from the simulator.  She became more comfortable with the simulator doing turns and what the instruments telling her and eventually said she would like to fly the airplane. 

Flight Planning

My flight’s last module of the day was flight planning.  I stepped in while they were in the middle of the exercise.

While electronic flight planning is normally used for everyday flying, doing a flight plan with a map, and paper flight log allows for a better understanding of the portions of the flight.

Sectional charts, which are used for visual flying that initial flight training is conducted under, are a visual representation of what the area looks like outside using areas of yellow to indicate what would be lit up in an urban area at night. 

The flight would be from Greene County (I19) to Fayette County (I23), a distance of 27 nautical miles.

After drawing a line on the map for the route, they would look at the map and talk about what would be a good checkpoint.  Not something directly on their route as they would not be able to see it outside when over it but something to either side. 

They would talk about the altitude the flight would go to and how to calculate the amount of fuel used for each portion of the flight. Additional areas discussed were how to decide which runway to use based on wind and airport information. 

As this was the end of a long day, the participants had a lot to reflect on while they were learning new skills. 

As they finished the flight planning module, the other flights joined them in the classroom for the STEM panel discussion and closing.

STEM Panel Discussion

Women in defense and education answered questions the participants had during the session.

The last of the participants filtered in after it began as they finished their simulator and flight modules. 

During the discussion, the importance of networking was discussed by several panelists including the woman who introduced and supported the small group Aviation STEM problem-solving.

After the discussion concluded, the closing ceremony took place.

As a flight leader, I read each of my participants’ names as they walked across the front of the room to receive a challenge coin from one of the Air Camp founders and handshakes from the coordinators. 

After everyone had received their coins, participants were encouraged to get contact information for those they had met that day and keep in contact as they felt appropriate.  The beginnings of their personal network. 

One of the participants who had homecoming afterward changed into her dress and ran out onto the ramp with a friend to take a superhero picture in her dress in front of an airplane.

We are each other’s superheroes.