No Days Off: Aviation Faculty Member Runs Summer Camp for Small Pilots
Summer stayed busy for Aviation Instructor Thomas Sutfin. Instead of taking a long break, he returned to the summer camp he established 18 years ago for kids 10-15 years old who want to fly.
According to the OC Register, Sutfin founded the camp at Long Beach Airport in 2008 to incorporate principles of aviation in order for junior high and high school students to learn without even knowing it.
“The kids are having fun, but they’re also learning about topics like charts, airplane types and calculations like weight balance,” he told the newspaper.
Sutfin previously taught high school and says he started the camp to make up for gaps in cutbacks to shop classes.
“The kids are having fun, but they’re also learning about topics like charts, airplane types and calculations like weight balance,” he said in the article.
The campers get this education through what Sutfin calls “hard fun.” They use flight simulators and combat simulators, either partnering with each other on a mission in a nose-to-nose battle.
They get to see the airport’s control tower, meet with controllers, and learn how pilots conduct a preflight on an airplane.
The camp offers eight, one-week sessions at the Fullerton and Long Beach airports and Flabob Airport in Riverside.