My career in CAP so far has been based mainly on the Cadet Program and Emergency Services. My squadron has very little interest in Aerospace Education, and my wing has never held a flight academy. So, last December I decided that I was going to attend a Flight Academy this summer. My father is a Certified Flight Instructor for powered aircraft, so I chose the Glider track because I do not have that readily available at home. After I found out that I was accepted to NFA-G in Mattoon, IL, I began my own studies on gliders. We were not sent a packet to study before we left, so I went to the bookstore and bought a book on gliders and began reading. A few weeks later, I was off to Illinois to experience something I have never experienced before.

Before I begin telling about the actual Academy, I would like to say that I have never seen a glider up close before I attended NFA-G. I also had no logged time in a powered aircraft. By telling you this, I am trying to say that it is not imperative that you be some aviation fanatic in order to attend. Your attitude once you get there will determine your success in the program.

There were twelve cadets, four instructors, four gliders, three tow planes, and three tow pilots present at the Encampment. Three of the gliders were Schweizer S-2-33, and the other was an ASK-21, the beautiful high-performance glider from Colorado. Saturday, the day we arrived, was used to get situated in our dorms and getting to know people. Sunday morning, like all other mornings, breakfast was held at 0630. We left for the airport at 0700; we were flying by 0730. We flew until lunch, took a 30 minute break to eat, and then flew to 1700. At that point, we went back to the dorms, had some ground school and relaxed. We were required to be in our rooms by 2300. Each day the schedule varied somewhat, due to inclement weather or other problems.

While at the airport, we were always busy. Glider flights normally last under 20 minutes (in training), so we were always pushing the gliders on and off the runway. Although gliders can land on cement, we landed in grass for the training. With only 12 cadets present at the activity, you were always needed to help push gliders.

Don't let the "Encampment" in the title misguide you. NFA-G was the most relaxed CAP activity that I have attended. The only time we wore a uniform was at the banquet. You can't fly gliders with combat boots on, so that might explain why we didn't wear BDU's during the day. We were free to go into town with a group of people, as long as the Senior Members knew where we were.

When we arrived, we were informed of the rules that Nationals placed on being able to solo in gliders at a Flight Academy. National's rule on this is that you have to have 30 flights in order to solo, meaning in the plane by yourself. We were told that we were guaranteed to have the opportunity to "pre-solo" which means that you would conduct the flight as if the instructor was not in the back seat, but the instructor would be present in case you put your life in danger. I passed my "pre-solo," but I could not solo because I did not have the required 30 flights. Well, the instructors at NFA-G pulled some strings and got the 30-flight rule wavered. Everybody that successfully passed their "pre-solo" was given the opportunity to solo. I was one of the five cadets who soloed on June 28, 2002.

National Glider Academy was definitely worth the hefty $700 that I forked out to go there. All of the cadets formed a team to get the mission accomplished, and it was definitely the best CAP activity that I have attended.