Aerospace Education with Putnam County Composite Squadron

On Saturday, September 23, 2017 the Putnam County Composite Squadron (Mustangs) hosted a Rocket Build and Fly Day at the Paladin Center on Seminary Hill Road in Carmel, NY. They welcomed the 399th Composite Squadron from Danbury, Connecticut to the event to enjoy the day with them.

The day started at 10 a.m. with both squadrons greeting and meeting each other. Cadets then proceeded to finish building their rockets, and by noon the rockets were completed and ready to be launched. The Mustangs hosted an outdoor barbecue, manned by Lt. Baldanza, which was extremely well done.

After lunch some of those in attendance participated in the National Youth Cyber Education Program given by the Mustangs. The rest adjourned to the rear of the Paladin Center to set up the launch pad and launch rockets. All rockets that were built by the cadets were successfully launched, parachuted down and recovered. Cadets therefore successfully completed phase one of the three stage physical portion of the rocket program, on their way to be awarded the prestigious rocketry badge.

One of the important parts of the day was that family members were able to see just what their cadets and the senior officers of Civil Air Patrol are all about. The Mustangs also introduced their mascot, a Yorkie, named Major Willie, in his BDU uniform, who also enjoyed the barbecue. The cadets took their turns entertaining the new mascot.

Captain Elena MacDermant, Putnam County Composite Squadron Commander welcomed Captain Jeff Jenkins and the officers and cadets from the 399th Composite Squadron. Major Ralph Langham, Putnam County Composite Squadron Aerospace Education Officer, organized and ran the rocket launches. The squadrons are now planning a joint aerospace education exercise on October 28 with FLYRC, a remote controlled airplane club in Southbury, CT.

Members of the Putnam County Composite Squadron meet on Friday’s from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Paladin Center, located at 39 Seminary Hill Road, Carmel, NY.

For additional information contact Captain Elena MacDermant, Civil Air Patrol, Putnam County Composite Squadron Commander at (845) 216-5433, email elenamac@aol.com or visit www.facebook.com/PutnamCountyCompositeSquadron.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. CAP’s 57,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. CAP also plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to 24,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com for more information.