Maura and Derrick “Rick” Neill, current and just-retired science teachers at Joyce Clark Middle School in Sierra Vista, Arizona, had never had a chance to be at the controls of an airplane. Recently they did, by participating in Civil Air Patrol Teacher Orientation Program flights in a CAP Cessna 182. The Air Force auxiliary provides these flights to teachers who become Aerospace Education Members. Maura received her membership as the Teacher of the Year for the Cochise Chapter of the Air Force Association (AFA), and Rick won his in a drawing at an AFA-sponsored teacher workshop last October.

When asked what she thought of the flight, Maura said, “It was wonderful! I felt like mental jelly; there was so much to learn, but Doug [CAP First Lieutenant Doug Henderson, their pilot] explained everything. Even when it didn’t totally click,” as when Henderson demonstrated the aircraft’s slow flight configuration which allowed her to feel the Cessna’s natural stability, “I saw it happen.”

Maura noted how the pilot of even a small airplane like the CAP’s Cessna followed the same kind of checklists her students follow when they perform simulated missions in the Space Shuttle mock-up at Joyce Clark Middle School. She also said she would be able to take back to her classes her first-hand experience with the concepts of lift and Bernoulli’s principle, which allowed all three of them to stay aloft in the Cessna.

The Neills were both surprised at how much they actually got to fly the airplane. Rick was on the controls most of the time from Sierra Vista to the Bisbee Municipal Airport. Maura got to fly most of the way back. Henderson, a CAP Mission Pilot, “worked within our abilities,” Maura said, ensuring the flight was always safe.

“We had an adventure,” Maura said. The fun of flying is something she said she couldn’t wait to share with her students after her flight.

Return to the Table of Contents or go to the Next Article

The Air Force Association (AFA) is an independent, nonprofit IRS 501(c)(3) organization. This newsletter is published monthly via e-mail. Submissions or comments should be sent to AENewsletter@afa.org.