The Katahdin Wings was able to sponsor two students at the Bangor-based 2006 Ace Camp. One of them, Dustin Fleck, visited with us at our July business meeting. He shared with us the enthusiasm and excitement he attained by attending the camp and learning about the many aspects of different aviation careers. Above are a few of the souvenir pieces he received. His favorite activites were the ride in a Blackhawk helicopter, and the ride-along in the KC135 Stratotanker (shown above) while several pilots practiced refueling with the refueling boom at 30,000 feet. Dustin also received the Most Improved award, which garnered him 30 minutes of flight time at Maine Instrument Flight. Dustin looks forward to attending again next year, and eventually becoming a junior counselor in the following years. Read below for more details of Ace Camp and how to apply for a Katahdin Wings scholarship to partially cover tuition.

The Katahdin Wings, Maine Chapter of The 99s, proudly supports the FAA ACE (Aviation Career Education) Camp programs. ACE Camp was held at the Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor August 5 -11, 2007, and is open to boys and girls entering 9th through 12th grade. The only requirement is interest and enthusiasm in exploring careers in aviation.

Each year the Katahdin Wings Chapter nominates two candidates to receive a scholarship to attend ACE Camp through an application process. We award a $250 scholarship to each winning applicant to help cover tuition costs. While we strongly encourage girls to get involved, we are also happy to nominate boys to attend the camp.

So, if you know a young person who has expressed interest in aviation, please let them know about ACE Camp. To obtain more information and an Application Package, contact Ann Delaney, 207-974-4871, for the Bangor-based camp. Or visit their web site to download the ACE Camp Applications and teacher recommendation form.

Please contact Katahdin Wings Scholarship Chair Debbie Lymneos if interested in applying for a scholarship. THE APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR THE 2008 SCHOLARSHIP WILL BE ANNOUNCED. The winner of the scholarship will be required to give a short presentation about their week at camp at one of our monthly business meetings.

The following is an excerpt from the summary Katahdin Wings received from Director Malcolm Brydon, highlighting the events and activities from the 2003 Bangor-based ACE Camp:

“We all had a great time learning about aviation careers, making new friends, flying in various aircraft, and traveling to many airports and ATC facilities. Students visited Portland, Wiscasset, Rockland, Old Town, Bangor and Greenville airports.

They visited air traffic control towers, radio approach facilities, an automated flight services station, fixed base operators, aircraft maintenance shops, and airport security screeners. They observed military base life at Bangor Air National Guard Base, and college life by staying at Eastern Maine Community College!

This year was unique as we had the privilege of seeing 10 F-16s up close and personal as the Israeli and Belgian Air Force came to Bangor during our camp week! It was awesome!

We had a busy schedule that included classes on aviation history, theory of flight, aircraft identification and performance characteristics, GPS, aviation navigation, airport facility directory familiarization, and model rocket construction.

The students flew in various aircraft throughout the week such as J3 (Cub), (Cessnas) 152, 172, 180, 185, 206; GA7 and KC-35.”

Katahdin Wings members often get involved by volunteering to assist the directors and counselors when their groups visit local airports. Above is the 2003 camper’s visit to Wiscasset Airport (left), where Katahdin Wings member Lisa Reece participated by taking campers flying in her Piper J3 Cub (right).