Bethel High School's NJROTC NS3s Go Flying

On Monday, Oct. 24, the Bethel NJROTC Junior cadets, or otherwise referred to as NS3's, visited the Arrow School of Aviation in Danbury to practice their flying skills. Of course, the NS3's did not blindly go into the sky without practice. Since the second week of school, they have been training on a flight simulator which is powered through the computer.

Cadets learn the six basic instruments of flight used in aviation, taking off and landing smoothly and how to keep and maintain a consistent speed and altitude. They choose their aircraft of choice, a Cessna, and before attending the field trip, they had to complete their own flight solo. This solo consisted of taking off at a constant speed of 80 knots and climbing to an altitude of 1,500 feet while keeping a 10 degrees nose up attitude. Second, they must make their first left turn, banking the wings 10 degrees and then descending to 1,200 feet.

On the last left turn, the students clearly see the runway lit with four lights that change red or white depending on your height ascending to the runway. Two red, two white, you're all right. Red, red, red, you'll soon be dead. If you see all white, you're too high. While coming towards the runway, students pull the yolk gently towards themselves and “flare” so they come to a smooth landing. The flight simulator seems unrealistic to anyone who has not tried it, but it truly is a helpful tool.

Students gathered in the ROTC room in the morning and hopped on a bus driving them to the Danbury airport. After given a pep talk by Lt. Commander Dwinells, they flooded into the lobby of Arrow Aviation. The NS3's were then greeted by Mr. Whittaker, who introduced the flight instructors, briefed them on his flying history and guided them towards the hanger. Outside, cadets were divided into bundles of threes and assigned their instructors. The NS3's watched the other students take off and fly towards their next destination, Sikorsky airport. The cadets left behind at the hanger were then given a tour by Mr. Whittaker. The planes within the hanger ranged form the years 1920 to the present. One plane was used in World War I and is still flown frequently today.

The students took off from Danbury airport heading West 270 degrees towards Sikorsky airport. The passengers were able to look over Bethel High School where they called Msgt. Meehan to come outside and watch them fly by. They could also observe Bridgeport and the Long Island Sound. The headsets are the only thing that kept the students communicating with each other and they could hear each instructor communicating with the main flight tower.

The sound of the tiny Cessna is loud and the handling is startling. It's turns are slow but significant and the cadet flying must make small corrections. The first cadet must land at Sikorsky airport. After the landing, the cadets get out of the Cessna, with much effort considering it is quite a small plane on the inside, and then take off and fly a new heading towards Oxford airport. After landing at Oxford, the cadets then change once more before taking off for the second time. It took about an hour per each session before the students returned to their beginning heading, West 270 degrees at Danbury. 

The overall event was life changing for the NS3's. A few cadets had never even been in a plane before and their first experience in one was flying it. Many students were scared of heights and overcame that fear as well. Flying a plane is not a common field trip for a normal class, but in ROTC we all learn something unique every year that will make an impression on us for the rest of our lives.