HIGHER EDUCATION
New Explorer post caters to youths interested in aviation
IMPERIAL — The creation of Imperial County’s first aviation-themed Explorer post, a group catering to local youths interested in aviation or an aviation career, is now underway, as a public introductory meeting was held Thursday night at Imperial County Airport.
The one-hour meeting attracted about six high school-aged youths and their parents. The post’s director and instructors outlined for those in attendance the kinds of hands-on activities and interactions they can expect from the group.
A number of law enforcement and fire department Explorer posts already exist in the county, and the creation of the aviation post will be bring about a unique opportunity for young adults, said Erin Gillette, Exploring director for the San Diego-Imperial Council of the Boys Scouts of America.
The post plans to use the local airport and provide future members with hands-on experience flying in an airplane, working on an airplane and learning about air-traffic control.
Members will also learn more about what it takes to manage an airport, as well as learn to interact
with pilots, mechanics and flight attendants in order to get a well-rounded idea of what a career might look like in the aviation field, Gillette explained.
A quick survey in the room during Thursday’s meeting revealed the youths were most interested learning about the flying, engineering and mechanical aspects of aviation.
“Now that we know what their interests are, that’s what we’ll design the program around,” Gillette said.
The Explorer post will be led by local pilots Mike Saad and Wally Hale.
Saad spoke briefly at the meeting about the benefits of learning how to fly in Imperial County as opposed to other areas.
“There are no other planes around,” Saad said. “As opposed to when you’re in San Diego or L.A. learning to fly, right away you’re talking to an air traffic controller just to taxi and take off. Here, there’s nobody to talk to, so it’s really nice that you can learn first how to fly and then how to talk.”
The post will be run by the organization Exploring, which is under the umbrella of the Boys Scouts of America.
Exploring is currently celebrating the Year of Aviation, which was the impetus of creating a post in Imperial County.
With the creation of the Imperial post and the two already-existing aviation posts in San Diego, there are now three aviation posts in the BSA San Diego-Imperial Council.
“We’re trying to start more posts to serve more youths that are interested in aviation,” Gillette said. “We’re also looking at starting two more in San Diego as well, so we’ll have a total of five in our council.”
For the Imperial post, the Exploring director hopes to see it flourish quickly.
“We hope to see this post grow in in a number of youths and adults participating,” the director said. “Our hope is probably to get 12 to 15 youths at the next meeting.”
While an exact date has yet to be determined, the Explorer post’s next meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on a Friday in January.