(1)
Cadet Airman Basic Jessica Weimer and 1st Lt. William Hess inspect rockets before the first launch of the day.
Photo by Cadet Airman 1st Class Victor Valduvinos.
(2)
Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Andres Rodriguez prepares his rocket for launch.
Photo by Cadet Airman 1st Class Victor Valduvinos
(3)
Orientation pilot 1st Lt. Allen Johnson of the Raleigh-Wake Composite Squadron describes the preflight inspection process to Cadet Airmen 1st Class Andrew Konopka (center) and James Nelson.
Photo by 1st Lt. William Hess.
1st Lt. William Hess
Deputy Commander for Cadets
Tar River Composite Squadron
North Carolina Wing
NORTH CAROLINA -- Nine cadets and two senior members from the Tar River Composite Squadron more than made up for missing the North Carolina Wing’s Aerospace Education Day on Oct. 3 by enjoying an impromptu aerospace education day of their own Saturday.
The day got off to a great start at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport with a 9 a.m. cadet orientation flight out of piloted by 1st Lt. Allen Johnson of the Raleigh-Wake Composite Squadron. Other cadets worked on model rockets or practiced their flying skills on aerospace education officer 1st Lt. David Nelson’s flight simulator while waiting for the second orientation flight of the day.
Shortly after the second flight left, 1st Lt. William Hess, the unit’s deputy commander for cadets, and six cadets piled into the squadron van and drove into Wilson to see their rockets in action. A misfire and a parachute failure provided plenty of excitement, allowing the cadets to successfully show off their range safety knowledge and line searching skills.
After five successful flights -- the sixth launch was scrubbed -- the rocketeers returned to base for testing, more time on Nelson’s simulator and the day’s final orientation flight of the day.
By the end of the day, the following cadets had experienced the thrill of flight in the air or from the ground:
- Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Andres Rodriguez.
- Cadet Senior Airmen Sean Gettys and Emily Watson.
- Cadet Airmen 1st Class Lucero DeLaFuente, Andrew Konopka, James Nelson, Crystal Rodriguez and Victor Valduvinos.
- Cadet Airman Basic. Jessica Weimer.
Their smiles and enthusiasm provided more than enough incentive for Tar River Composite leaders to look for ways to make the event a regular part of the squadron calendar.
