On May 6th, after a week of bad weather and scheduling preemptions, Squadron 805 of the South Carolina Wing of Civil Air Patrol conducted Cadet Orientation Flying. Our aircraft, N993CP, is a Cessna 172R which carries fifty-two gallons of 100LL (low lead) aviation fuel, can remain airborne for nearly five hours and travels at two miles per minute. On orientation flights were rarely in a hurry, so fuel flow is reduced and we cruise a little slower taking in the beauty of the Carolina sky and scenery. Two recently assigned cadets were on their first flight together. Other than airliners, they had never flown in a small, single-engine aircraft. Nathaniel Vande Garde and Ryan Bachman are pictured in the attachment. They viewed the South Dam where the Wateree River became Lake Wateree. They flew up the river toward Lancaster, SC and saw the two other dams that control the flow of water through that river. Over Lancaster they viewed USC-Lancaster and Lancaster County Airport. We flew IFR (I follow roads) down Highway 521 to Kershaw, SC, then southward to Camden and Kershaw County Airport (KCDN), our pont of origin. There we swapped seats and headed east towards Florence, Marion and Cheraw (Bellinger Field). Having overflown Hartsville, SC we saw Coker College and the Hartsville Airport. From the air we could see trees that were planted by man -- they are in geometric rows. Natural trees are in no discernible pattern. Perhaps God doesnt like Geometry; I know I didnt. And these two Freshman will try their hand at it next year as Sophomores. The next flight was The Italian Flight. We flew to Greenville Downtown Airport where we dined at the Runway Café. See the pic attached. The restaurant features large pictures of classic aircraft cockpits, menu items named after famous aviators, and the tower frequency (119.9) can be heard over the speaker system. Appropriately named, this gastronomic delight sits on the South Ramp in full view of the Runway 1 approach; aircraft can be seen taking off and landing on Runways 10 and 28, the shorter crosswind runway. Cadets Mauney (second flight) and Betti (first flight) were co-pilot and navigator for this delicious flight segment. See attached photo. This is the last Cadet Orientation Flying for the school year. Camden Military Academy graduation is Sunday, May 18th. We will resume flying in the fall. Cadets in our squadron meet weekly on Tuesday following the evening meal. They study Aerospace, Leadership, Moral Leadership and Character Development. Cadets have six Aerospace Modules which can be taken in any order. One module, one Character Development/Moral Leadership lesson and a Physical Training Test must be completed for each promotion. The Civil Air Patrol has the largest fleet of civilian aircraft in the world. Our mission is Search & Rescue, Disaster Relief, and Cadet Education Programs. Cadets can transfer to a squadron close to their permanent residence where they will continue their education and promotions. At summers end they can transfer back to the Camden Cadet Squadron here at CMA. For further information go to gocivilairpatrol.
Posted on: Sat, 17 May 2014 19:00:00 +0000
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