Father, son soar at Texas Wing Glider Academy

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Cadet Capt. Stephen Roquemore is doused with 5 gallons of ice water after his solo at the Texas Wing Glider Academy.

(Photo by Capt. Darrell Roquemore)


2nd Lt. David McCollum
Public Affairs Officer
Delta Composite Squadron
Texas Wing

TEXAS -- It’s not unusual for teenagers to go to summer camp. What is unusual is for that camp to be all about learning how to fly gliders.

Even more unusual is to have your dad be part of that experience by serving on the camp staff – unless, of course, you happen to be a Civil Air Patrol cadet with a dream of flying and your dad is a CAP officer who shares your dream and works, along with other senior members, to give those dreams flight.

Such was the case this summer as Cadet Capt. Stephen Roquemore and his father, Capt. Darrell Roquemore, members of the Delta Composite Squadron, attended the Texas Wing Glider Academy at the Soaring Club of Houston near Waller. The Roquemores joined 29 others -- 14 cadets, five tow plane pilots, six instructor pilots and four support staff -- for the weeklong camp, which offered cadets the opportunity to learn to fly a glider and possibly earn the right to take a solo flight.

This was not the typical summer camp, nor were these the typical summer campers.

The gathering proved to be a record-setting event. Between Monday and early Saturday, there were more than 330 tows of gliders into the skies over the club. The longstanding club record of 62 tows in a single day was replaced by the academy’s 73 on Tuesday. That record fell by the wayside on Thursday, when an incredible 90 tows occurred.

But the academy was not about the records; it was all about the cadets, who ranged in age from 14 to 18.

A few came with some flying experience, but most did not. Some were fearful in the cockpit during their initial flights, and a few got airsick.

They were not to be deterred, though. Each and every one overcame obstacles and became fully confident pilots-in-training by the end of the week.

What a transformation! One of the parents later said in an e-mail, “We gave you a kid to look after; we’re getting back a young adult.”

And what about the Roquemores? What was their experience?

In the words of the younger member of the pair, “The Texas Wing Glider Academy was an experience not to be forgotten. We spent six days of exciting, nonstop flying that made the time spent well worth it. I took part in what every cadet agreed was one of the best experiences of our lives.”

As for dad? “I had the privilege of serving on the staff the entire week, with a cadet in the program.”

The academy had at its disposal two Schweitzer 2-33 gliders, one Schweitzer 2-22 and two Blanik L-23s, and a reserve Grob G103. While some cadets were in the air, others were instructed on ground operations for launching and recovering gliders. 

Each cadet stayed in the same type of glider the entire week in order to keep the experience constant. Several instructors rotated through the different gliders to give their special brand of teaching. At the same time, cadets rotated through several jobs on the ground. 

Each morning, the flight operations officer would give the cadets their order of flying, based on the total number of instruction flights each had accumulated the previous day. For example, a cadet who had flown only six times would be given priority until catching  up to those who already had more flights. 

A break for lunch briefly interrupted operations, and then everyone returned to their jobs until around 7 p.m., when sufficient time was needed to put up the aircraft in order to be on time for dinner. 

One of the 2-33s and both of the Blaniks were placed in Quonset-style hangars several yards from the clubhouse. The 2-22 was tied down outside on the other side of those hangars, while the remaining 2-33 was parked its own special hangar near the end of the field. Once all gliders were put away, everyone went to dinner at the clubhouse. 

After dinner and a final round of logbook filling, everyone retired to a nearby camp with comfortable, air-conditioned log cabins. Most evenings, though, left little time for relaxation as studies continued there, at least until exhaustion set in.

Lights out, enforced by the advanced cadets, was normally around 11 p.m. At 5:45 each morning, everyone rolled out of their bunks, spent endless minutes waiting on each other to get out the shower, and finally piled into the 15-passenger CAP vans to return to the glider port for another day of flight. 

Such was a typical day at the academy.

“Tuesday was especially exciting,” the younger Roquemore said. “We were told that the ABC television affiliate from Houston was coming out to do a story on the academy.”

His father added: “There was no overt sign t hat the cadets paid any attention to them, but somehow the tempo of operations increased.”

Cadet Roquemore backed up that observation. “About eleven o’clock, the Channel 13 News truck showed up and the basic cadets were told not to be going out of their way to get in front of the camera,” he said. “Everyone stayed focused on their jobs, regardless of the news crew. However, there was an increase in energy and operations sped up noticeably.”     

“The news team, consisting of a reporter and a photographer, interviewed the project officer, Maj. David Ayre, and two local cadets: my son and Cadet 1st Lt. Juliana Leano from Spindletop Composite Squadron near Beaumont,” Capt. Roquemore recalled. “The team had every intention of doing a live broadcast from the field, but was pre-empted at the last minute by another news story. The story finally aired on July 20.”

And the highlight of the week?

“On Thursday, the very last flight of the day was my solo, the 90th sortie,” cadet Roquemore said. “It wasn’t that long, just a tow up to 1,000 feet, enough to get into the pattern. When I came down, everyone rushed to the cockpit with all of their cameras, eager for a picture or a video.

“Once I climbed out of the glider, two of the cadets dowsed me with 5 gallons of ice water! After I put the glider away, I returned to the clubhouse for dinner and much congratulatory conversation with everyone else.”

His father observed: “Any parent watching their child do something dangerous, no matter how good the training, cannot avoid having their heart in their throat. I know I did, and it was made worse because I, too, have been in the cockpit of a glider and know what can go wrong.

“Thankfully, I was able to keep myself distracted by being the photographer for the event. When Stephen landed, I was proud of him and all that he has accomplished.”

The academy concluded with cadets averaging 22 flights in their logbooks. Those who return to the academy next summer should be able to solo in no time.

“Most of us traded contact information so we could stay in touch with each other,” cadet Roquemore said, “and we all left the academy with a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and experience that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.”