I bet you know of a lot of people that spent a week of summer hanging out at the beach (bleh), surfing, fishing, or some other mundane thing. Me, I participated in a search and rescue mission in the middle of the ocean. I flew planes. I dropped weather buoys from the sky to prepare for a hurricane. I even went to Havana airport in Cuba. I really did! No exaggeration. But maybe there’s a slight nuance in my truth that you should be aware of.
During the month of June 2017, I participated in the week long Ambition program that is offered to teens through the National Flight Academy (NFA). The NFA is stationed on the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Pensacola,FL. While on a simulated aircraft carrier called the CVT-11 Ambition, I had the opportunity to fly an X-12B Triad (which goes Mach 2.5 by the way) using a flight simulator, learned how to navigate a plane using radar, planned my course (how far,what direction,fuel consumption), met new people, and made new friends. On the Ambition, the schedule can be kinda crazy but the morning is a little less hectic. I mainly spent it with my squadron or my cag (3 squadrons make up 1 cag). I spent some of the mornings taking field trips to various places such as the National Naval Aviation Museum, seeing the Blue Angels Fly and even visited a control tower. After lunch the hard (& fun) stuff began. I helped plan and fly missions while helping other AXPs (Ambition eXperimental Pilots) was the agenda for the rest of the day. When the day came to a close, I proceeded with a little R&R with my bunkmates. At the end of the 6 day Ambition program I graduated. I earned a diploma and a CVT-11 Ambition patch. I even received my wings from retired LtGen Duane D. Thiessen.
That my friends is what I call a summer well spent…Ambition baby
If you want to take a peek at the NFA head on over to this site: http://nationalflightacademy.com
Below is the link to one of the primary organizations that made my scholarship to the NFA possible. Thanks OBAP! obap.org
Bearing Together 