Some Basic Aerospace

Though I have completed all of my Level 1 requirements, it is still not posted to the national online database yet. The general consensus of the other senior members is that the squadron commander is sitting on something and not following up on the paperwork. I went to the cadet meeting tonight in part to see if I could get some answers, but the commander was out...

In the meantime, the cadets were having an aerospace lesson. This covered some of the same material that the cadet from last week was having trouble with. I'm still barely up to speed on the senior member advancement program, and know very little about what the cadets need to do. But I can handle the technical side of things. With nothing else to do about my own membership issues, I spent an hour with the cadets assisting with their lesson.

We went over aircraft instruments, power plants (engines), and airport lighting tonight. I am one of those people that is usually not satisfied with a single word answer. This probably bugs the heck out of the cadets, but I will consistently ask "why". For example, we discussed gyroscopes - the artificial horizon and heading indicator instruments in the plane. They basically need to know how they work and why. But I push it a bit further. "Why do you need to readjust the heading indicator? Precession. What is precession? and so on..." I didn't hijack the discussion, but I do feel that rote memorization is but a small part of the learning process. Visualizing how and why something works the way it does is another story.

Speaking of another story...
Peripherally related to my latest endeavor, I will be making a trip down to Casa Grande, AZ for the Copperstate Fly-in. Though I will not actually be flying ($$$), I'm looking forward to going. I've never been to an EAA event, which focuses on the experimental and home-built markets, rather than the military air shows I usually go to. Also on the agenda however: I am trying to set up a visit with an aviation author that I particularly enjoy and have had some conversations with over the past year. Cool stuff. Aviation definitely can take you places.