Tribune/Dan McGee - At Saturday's flight camp for the Young Eagles organization, Civil Air Patrol 1st Lt. Wayne Thomas shows Niklas Murray how the Cessna Turbo 182's high-tech mapping system works.
Tribune/Dan McGee - Sean O'Brien, a junior at Reed High School, sits in the Civil Air Patrol's Cessna Turbo 182. O'Brien has flown in the aircraft and is a air patrol cadet. He became interested in aviation after sitting in a F-18 when he was 6 years old.
About 100 students of all ages showed up with parents and family members to take part in the camp held at the air races hangar. After a pancake breakfast, the students fanned out to see displays and tour various aircraft.
The Nevada Army Guard Aviation Battalion brought in two helicopters. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office had a RAVEN helicopter and in the hangar, various light aircraft were on display as well.
Parked outside the hangar’s door was a Cessna Turbo 182 belonging to the local Civil Air Patrol wing, as well as a 1930s Navy biplane trainer brought in by the Sierra wing of the Commemorative Air Force.
One air patrol cadet present was Sean O’Brien, who will be a junior at Reed High School. The four-year patrol veteran caught the aviation bug at an early age.
“What got me interested is meeting a pilot when I was about 6 years old after I sat in the back seat of a F-18,” O'Brien said. “Then, when I was 13, my dad got me a ride in a World War II plane down at Minden and we met a member of the CAP (Civil Air Patrol), who suggested I join.”
So far, O’Brien has taken part in five powered and three glider flights and has completed the ground school part of pilot training. Now, ready to take lessons, he can fly an airplane as long as there is an instructor on board.
“I’ve been in the CAP, which is an Air Force auxiliary, for the past six years,” said 1st Lt. Wayne Thomas. “I’m a late flyer and decided to join a club where I didn’t have to buy the gas. But someday I hope to buy a plane and now take cadets on observation flights.”
He added that during search missions for aircraft or lost persons, cadets don’t fly but are assigned ground duties.
Another student enjoying his second flight camp was 10-year-old Niklas Murray, who will be a fifth grader at Edward Van Gorder Elementary School.
“This is my second camp and my father is the one that got me interested in aircraft,” Murray said. “He used to live by an Air Force base and we attend the air races every year.”
One group with several displays was the Reno Area 99’s, a group whose roots extend back to the famous female aviator, Amelia Earhart.
“We’re an international organization of women pilots and the name comes from a meeting in 1929 when all 117 licensed women pilots in the U.S. were invited and only 99 showed up,” said member Jeanne Pierce. “And Earhart was one of our first presidents.”
The women had several tables set up where children could try out various aviation related experiments.
In addition, a dome from the Challenger Learning Center was available at the camp, offering students simulated space missions.
Later in the day, the youngsters would have an opportunity to fly with an experienced pilot.
“We are thrilled to take part in this exciting opportunity for local youth, who are interested in aviation,” Air Racing Foundation chairman Steve Carrick said in a press release. “It is so important to begin education the future of our industry at a young age and w are proud to be able to offer that.”
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