Youth Soar Over East Alton

Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. 8/24/2026

Nine Civil Air Patrol cadets from the Scott Composite Squadron, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, trained in general aviation at the Saint Louis Regional Airport, East Alton, Illinois, on Saturday, 22 August and Sunday, 23 August 2026.

Civil Air Patrol was on site conducting cadet orientation flights in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk, a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing, fixed-wing plane manufactured by the Cessna Aircraft Company. The Civil Air Patrol cadet orientation flight program’s primary goal is to introduce youth to general aviation firsthand.

One of the fliers was Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Daniel Bowers from New Baden, who was also the oldest cadet present on Saturday.

“This will be my fourth and final “O” Flight since I will turn 18 years old next week,” Cadet Bowers said.

During these flights, the cadets took advantage of the opportunity to support the flying activity by training and performing flight line marshaling, mobile communications, and administration, unless it was their turn to fly in the plane, of course.

The local Civil Air Patrol at the Saint Louis Regional Airport, the 286th Composite Squadron, is led by Major David Felber, who hosted the training event and taught mobile communications.

“When commercial communication systems fail or become overloaded, Civil Air Patrol’s communications network is ready to maintain command and control channels, keeping Civil Air Patrol’s aircraft flying and ensuring critical messages are relayed during emergencies and supporting a wide range of operational missions,” Major Felber said.

When it was time for lunch, the cadets preferred to sample local cuisine, enjoying burgers and homemade root beer at King Louie’s Drive-In in Wood River on Saturday, and concrete and cheese fries at Weathervane Ice Crème in Bethalto on Sunday.

After they completed their flights, learning local history was next. To pay homage to America’s first explorers, they went 150 feet to the top of the Confluence Tower and Lewis and Clark Memorial to see the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers for themselves.

It only seemed right to head down the trail to learn more about the Corps of Discovery’s winter home before embarking on their expedition at Camp River Dubois from December 1803 to May 1804.

A few cadets were so enthralled at what they learned they decided to take the Junior Ranger pledge after completing activity booklets by a scavenger hunt of fill-in-the-blanks to learn more about Native lands and decodes messages, getting to know expedition members’ diverse backgrounds and skills, resulting in being awarded the Junior Ranger badge and an opportunity to also receive a wooden nickel after answering more questions about the highlights of the site.

One Junior Ranger badge recipient was Cadet Airman First Class Gabriel Gonzalez from Scott Air Force Base, who introduced the program to his peers. “I do these activity booklets at every National Park Service location my family visits,” Cadet Gonzalez said.

About Civil Air Patrol

Founded in 1941 and established as the official civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force seven years later, Civil Air Patrol is chartered by Congress as a nonprofit organization for the purposes of youth development, aerospace education, and to promote general aviation. In an auxiliary role as a Total Force partner of the Air Force, Civil Air Patrol operates the world’s largest fleet of single-engine aircraft for search and rescue, disaster relief, training, and education. Civil Air Patrol is dedicated to serving America’s communities, saving lives, and shaping futures.

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