Boy Scouts aviation

[Lisabob 13]

My son's troop is doing their planning session for next year pretty soon A couple of the boys are interested in doing something along the lines of an aviation theme and they've asked me to help them find out what the "boundaries" are in terms of what's possible from the BSA's perspective.

 

I know there's a MB. I know that the Young Eagles have done some things together with scouting groups in the past. I have heard that the paperwork/liability aspect is enormous and complicated. Does anyone have any experience helping boy scouts put together an aviation-themed event and if so, would you please share any suggestions or pointers? Thanks!

[Eagle1973 10]

What aviation assets are available to you? Private? Commercial? Military? Flying clubs?

 

Being near a Master Jet Base, we gained access to the Navy's F-18 Simulators, had USN Pilots as our instructors.

 

No liability paperwork, since we only simulated leaving the ground. But this was really cool, the imagery out the windscreen was real stuff over the base, "flew" over my house and everything...

 

 

 

[Lisabob 13]

Re: resources, we have a county airport. There's a civil air patrol unit in the area (I think - their website hasn't been updated since 2001!) and a young eagles chapter. There is an air national guard base and a flight museum - Kalamazoo Air Zoo - within driving distance, though the Air Zoo would be a bit of a hike for us and the guard base has limited access for security reasons. I know the Air Zoo run a regular scout program including simulators, which the boys are already aware of, but it is an indoor lock-in type thing, rather than a camp out option. Right now there are no aviation MB counselors in our district (but we can change that).

 

 

[Beavah 205]

Yah, I think yeh also have some other resources in your area - Jackson Community College has an aviation program at that airport, eh? And there's some big flight school at some town near there, where I-94 and I-69 come together.

 

I've worked with councils settin' up aviation stuff with EAA in Oshkosh. There's a general agreement letter between the BSA and EAA that allows EAA member pilots participatin' in Young Eagles flights to bypass most of the headaches of the BSA flyin' tour permit process (which is much too cumbersome for bigger events), because the EAA is providing insurance coverage. Yeh have to "push" some less service-minded execs sometimes to look it up. And lots of EAA folks there in Kalamazoo associated with da AirZoo.

 

Most airport administrations and flight schools will be glad to work with you. Some will even allow campin' in a corner of the airport property. Control tower tours, though, have mostly been "out" since 9/11.

 

So MB work, orientation flights, facility tours, meetin' visits by local pilots, campin' in aircraft hangars or on the field, CAP presentations, all kinds o' things are possible. The flyin' community is pretty pro-Scoutin' eh? Most are happy to help if yeh give 'em enough notice, or hook up to overlap with another event they're doing. Your guys could even help out with one of the pancake breakfast "fly-ins" at your local airport.

 

Beavah

 

[Eagle1973 10]

Don't be afraid to approach the National Guard. It's a great recuiting tool for them to entertain the Scouts, plant the seed early that there are many ways to continue there service.

 

I like going directly to the top. Find out who the base commander is and call his/her office. They can direct you from there, probably with the "front office" endorsement too.

[click23 66]

Here is a link to the flying permit: http://www.scouting.org/pubs/gss/forms/bsaflyingpermit.pdf

[Gonzo1 10]

You might see if there is a genuine flight simulator (not a disney type ride) nearby, a military base or aviation museum might have something.

 

 

[Lisabob 13]

Great resources, thanks for the tips. It turns out we have a guy in the troop who is a reservist with an air national guard base so he's going to look into some options there too. Beavah, it's a little scary you knew that about Jackson CC and I didn't!

 

 

[ASM915 90]

Lisa,

Does your Guard buddy have a friend that has his own plane or access to one at the county airfield?

 

We tried to set up a weekend campout that ended at an small airport on Sunday. The former SM had a friend that held his private license. The original plan was was for him to take 3 Scouts and a leader up for 15 minute flights, fulfilling one of the MB requirements. One possible complication is you never know what Mother Nature will do to your plans. We had scattered clouds with a low ceiling, effective grounding our activity for the day. Two nice things that helped that day were, 1) the area Medivac Flight Team had a chopper stationed at the field (pilot let the scouts lok through the bird), and a Guard Blackhawk landed with a 2 or 3 star onboard flying in for some pep talk to some Iran bound boys. The Scouts had a chance to check out the BH and talk with the Pilot and Flight Engineer fulfilling another requirement.

 

As for the Aviation Tour permit, work at getting it filled out 2-3 months ahead of time. The form requests a lot of information on insurance, the type of aircraft and the pilots credentials. Also BSA has a seperate Aviation Permission Slip that needs signed by the parents before any Scout can participate in any flight activities.

 

Depending on how far you're willing to drive, Wright Patterson Air Base in Dayton has a good Scouting program, with a historic trail, camping and the Air Museum. It makes for a nice weekend.

 

Wish you luck.

 

Eric

 

[Lisabob 13]

Thanks Eric, we're actually on our way to Wright-Pat later this spring. Doing something that involved flight (or at least, simulators) would be a neat follow up on the theme for next year, and I believe that's what got the guys thinking along those lines.

[Beavah 205]

Yah, don't forget about airshows, eh? And yeh can always organize a trip up to Oshkosh, the nation's biggest airshow and aviation fly-in. There's an Explorer post that camps on the field and does support work for that, and it's possible to hook up with them and camp in exchange for some labor. For aviation interested kids, it's outstanding. Nice museum there at da EAA headquarters, too, even if yeh can't hit the huge event.

 

Beavah

 

[SSScout 1615]

Let me add my personal favorite...

 

Contact your state police aviation division. I would assume there is one. Ours (Maryland) was quite cooperative about local tours of their helicopter barracks. The best thing, tho, was for our CSDC. When a Dauphin Medivac 'coper lands right in front of you,ooo the Cubs go crazy. Lots of up close and personal conversation with the pilot and his EMT about the aircraft , missions, flying, physics of flight, etc. And then they take off!!! 200 mph winds blow everybodys hats and everything everywhere. I might think, with the right place and polite invite, your state police might do the same.

 

Check also local radio control model flying clubs. They love to welcome visitors and show off their skill.

 

Don't forget, ""Take offs are optiional, Landings are mandatory""

 

 

[Lisabob 13]

Beavah, I sent you a PM on this topic - here's hoping it went through.

[Lisabob 13]

Thought I'd give this a bump. The guys are about 2 months away from their aviation camp out and will be planning out final details this week. A couple of questions:

 

1) Looking at the newest version of the MB requirements, #3 looks like a doozy to pull off. On one hand we are a larger troop (right now about 55 boys), making this requirement seem pretty impractical to do in a group setting and we don't generally do MB "classes" at troop meetings anyway. On the other hand, the requirement specifically includes a troop or patrol model flight competition.

 

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the level of involvement (and cost!) involved here, as I'm really not into model building. Anybody do this sort of thing? Here's a link to the current MB requirements:

http://usscouts.org/mb/mb025.asp

 

2) What are some good back-up plans if the weather is uncooperative on "flight day?" The guys are really psyched about the flying part so they'll be disappointed if it doesn't work out but if they at least have a really cool plan B I think that would help. We will be at or near a small county airport and are coordinating with a Young Eagles chapter.

 

 

[CNYScouter 46]

 

3b. Build a model FPG-9.

 

 

I know it's up to the MBC but a quick google search has lots of links on using this for Aviation MB.

 

Look at the instructions at the following link:

http://www.wnit.org/outdoorelements/pdf/plate_glider_instructions.pdf

 

To build a model FPG-9 all you need is the following:

FPG-9 pattern

9 foam plate

Scissors

Clear tape

Ink pen

Penny

 

The instructions and pattern can be found at:

 

http://www.modelaircraft.org/education/FPG-9pattern.pdf

 

http://youthaviationadventure.org/download/FPG9OSU_DL_Notes.11.07.pdf

 

http://www.hobbiesr4u.com/images/Paper%20Plate%20Airplane.pdf