Scouts Worked To Complete Aviation Merit Badges At Sugar Valley Airport

Over 250 Boy Scouts and Scout leaders from the Rowan District of the Central North Carolina Council held an aviation camporee at Sugar Valley Airport (5NC2) last weekend (April 19 – 21). The focus of the event was for the scouts to complete requirements for their aviation merit badge.

Stations were set up around the airport for each participant for learning about airplane instruments, pre-flighting an airplane, building a model airplane, learning about careers in aviation and working with a simulator. For 173 scouts, however, the main event was a free airplane ride provided by volunteers from Chapter 1083 of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Salisbury in their Young Eagles program. The most common comment heard after the flights was: “It was awesome.” It was a perfect day for flying with visibility unlimited.

On Friday night the lake at Sugar Valley  was used as a backdrop for an Order of the Arrow tapping ceremony. Saturday afternoon a local area remote control aircraft club put on quite a show for the scouts. Saturday night, at the airport’s Friendship Fire Circle cadets participated in African drumming and were entertained by a live band. The night ended with a traditional flag ceremony.

(Images provided by Thomas White)

FMI: www.rowandistrictbsa.com, www.sugarvalleyairport.org