AVIATION EXPLORING IS YOUR TICKET TO THE AIRPORT A fun way for teens to learn about careers in aviation By Mark Wiesenhahn If you’re the kind of kid who looks up when an airplane flies by, we have some new friends to introduce you to who share your passion for aviation. Meet the Boy Scouts of America’s Aviation Explorers. But girls, don’t stop reading. Even though Aviation Explorers are a Boy Scout group, Exploring is open to all – young men and women from sixth grade to high school. By becoming an Aviation Explorer, you can meet and become friends with kids just like you, young people who love everything about airplanes. So how does it work? If you’re interested in becoming an Aviation Explorer, you’ll join a local post, which is like a local chapter of a national club. Each post has its own schedule – some meet every other week; some meet once a month during the school year. There are no uniforms or merit badges – just you and a bunch of friends hanging out, having fun, and learning at the airport. Aviation Explorers do exactly what the program says – you explore; in this case, you explore aviation. Through a national network of local Exploring posts, thousands of young people interact with pilots, air traffic controllers, engineers and others to become familiar with the career opportunities available in aviation. A typical Aviation Explorer meeting might be a field trip to an aviation museum, a tour of your airport’s air traffic control tower, a peek inside a luxurious corporate jet, or even a discussion with an airline pilot, corporate pilot or agricultural pilot. Some meetings offer hands-on experiences. You may work with an airplane mechanic and turn a wrench in an airplane or lend a hand to
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someone building their own airplane. Each meeting is different and every meeting introduces you to a new aspect of aviation. A highlight for many Aviation Explorers is a yearly trip to EAA AirVenture. That’s the “world’s largest airshow” held each year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. If you attend AirVenture with your Exploring post, you’ll camp right on the grounds of the show. When you’re not experiencing all that Oshkosh has to offer—daily airshows and thousands of airplanes— you’ll volunteer and work behind the scenes helping the airshow run smoothly. Aviation Exploration Base will be your home for the week where you eat your meals and camp out in tents. But it’s not all work – lots of fun activities are included. It’s an experience like no other. Another benefit of becoming an Explorer is the opportunity to apply for scholarships. Each year, Aviation Exploring awards thousands of dollars in academic scholarships to Explorers pursuing their aviation dreams. Applying for a scholarship is easy, and your post’s leader will guide you through the process. An Aviation Explorer scholarship could put a big dent in your upcoming aviation expenses – another great reason to become Aviation Explorer. Interested in becoming an Aviation Explorer? Here’s your next step. Go to aviationexploring.org and click on “Get Involved.” There you will fill out a form and someone from Aviation Exploring will contact you. Be sure to select “aviation” as your area of interest in the pull-down menu. See you at the airport!
