Texas Wing provides Fly-A-Teacher rides for 200 at Space Exploration Educators Conference

 

 

(1)
Capt. Stuart Hagedorn, Ellington Composite Squadron commander, with Texas educators Aretha White (left) and Maureen Adams.
 
(2)
Susan Mallett, Youth Development Program coordinator at Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters, gives a presentation on CAP's history and its programs for educators.

(3)
Air National Guard Lt. Col. Steve Winkler watches as Capt. Steve Hudson, deputy commander of Texas Wing Group II, carries out some of his duties as Fly-A-Teacher air operations branch director at Ellington Field’s Air National Guard Center.


Maj. Robert Brecount
Public Affairs Officer
Texas Wing

TEXAS – Civil Air Patrol’s Fly A Teacher program was in full swing Feb. 4-6 as Texas Wing pilots kept up to five CAP Cessna 172s aloft giving rides to approximately 200 teachers from across the country attending the Space Exploration Educators Conference at Space Center Houston.

The planes took off from Ellington Field’s Air National Guard Center under the direction of the wing’s director of space education, Maj. Bjorn Sundet; Capt. Stuart Hagedorn, Ellington Composite Squadron commander; and Capt. Steve Hudson, Texas Wing Group II deputy commander, who served as air operations branch director.

Through the Fly-A-Teacher program, educators enrolled as CAP aerospace education members are able to experience what flight in a small plane feels and sounds like – impressions they can pass along to their students while generating enthusiasm in the classroom.

The teachers’ reactions were uniformly enthusiastic. Asked what they thought after their rides, the most frequent answer was, “Wow!”
 
For Rebecca Dorris, educator from Hot Springs, Ark., the word was “Awesome!”
 
Teacher Maureen Adams of Killeen, Texas, declared, “I want to go again.” Similar comments were heard all afternoon as the excited riders voiced their appreciation for the CAP flights.
 
In the meantime, instructors from Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters, led by Susan Mallett, Youth Development Program coordinator and a former educator herself, Susan gave hands-on demonstrations related to the technologies and principles of flight. Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt, John Garcia shuttled groups over to his hangar, where they inspected the two unmanned Predator systems in his care.