For one week in July, the Maj. Gen. Irene Trowell-Harris Chapter of the national organization Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. conducted its inaugural aviation day camp. Among the participants was Cornwall High School freshman MacRae Edelen.
Edelen has been interested in aviation for years, being introduced to the field by her aunt’s friend who flies MedEvac aboard a Black Hawk helicopter. Plus her father owned a recreational ultralight.
“I don’t think they planned on me being interested in aviation,” Edelen said of her parents, “but I asked them about it and they told me a little bit more.”
Edelen heard about the aviation camp through one of her father’s friends. His son is a classmate of hers and is part of the Tuskegee Airmen youth program.
Over the course of a week, 24 boys and girls, between the ages of 9 and 17, participated in an intensive round of events and exercises focusing on STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and math) and aviation careers.
Classroom instruction entailed learning about communication, the history of aviation, and the principals of flight. The campers heard presentations from representatives of Jet Blue and Delta. The students also visited American Express and the Air National Guard and received a tour of a C-17.
“They showed us some jets,” Edelen said. “They showed us the cockpit which is a little different from a helicopter and a Cessna.”
Edelen said the cockpit of the jet is more spacious and has additional controls and buttons, as well as a lot of monitors.
The campers had to learn the phonetic alphabet and got to try a flight simulator. Edelen said she wasn’t nervous and thought she fared well with the simulation. She even remained calm when one of the instructors cut her engine, forcing her to land in a pond somewhere on the Schunemunk Mountain.
No aviation camp would be complete without some light-aircraft and helicopter rides with some basic flight instruction.
Edelen already had some experience in the air as an instructor allowed her to fly from West Point and back last summer. During the camp, she flew to the Mohonk Mountain House. Although she’s always had an affinity for helicopters, Edelen said the experience gave her an appreciation for airplanes.
Considering her future, Edelen said the military is still an option, but she also envisions herself being a jet pilot or someone who gives helicopter tours around Hawaii.
“I feel at peace,” Edelen said of flying. “I don’t really get that down here. I feel really happy afterwards and while I’m up there. It’s that feeling when you know you’re doing something right.”
