ACE Camp students see Minnesota from air

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Samantha Wagner
  • 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MINNEAPOLIS - ST. PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION --  Flying in a C-130 over northern Minnesota on June 21 was just one of the experiences a group of Minnesota high school students received as part of the Minnesota Aviation Career Education Camp held at the Minneapolis St. Paul Air Reserve Station.

ACE Camp is a week-long, residential camp for high school students going into 10th through 12th grades. The camp exposes students to various careers within the civilian aviation industry and the military.

The C-130 flight piloted by Col. Darrell G. Young, 934th Airlift Wing commander, traveled to northern Minnesota with 25 students aboard.  The students took turns visiting the flight deck, where they observed a pilot's vantage point of Minnesota.  The students donned headsets in order to communicate directly with the flight crew and ask questions about the controls, instruments and aviation in general. 

When not on the flight deck, students walked around the cargo area peering out windows and taking pictures of their experience. Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls and some of the damage from recent floods were some of the sights the students were able to observe.  For most of these students, this was their first time aboard a military aircraft.

The 934th Airlift Wing has been giving C-130 flight tours to ACE Camp participants for the past six years. For more information please visit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/aero/aved/students/aceinfo.html