Base helps scouts earn merit badge

  • Published
  • By Tim Norton
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Over 50 Boy Scouts from South Florida converged on Homestead Air Reserve Base to participate in the Aviation Merit Badge program Aug. 28.  

The all-day program is packed full of academics that teach the scouts the different kinds and uses of aircraft; explains the operation of piston, turboprop, and jet engines; how an airfoil generates lift and how the primary control surfaces (ailerons, elevators, and rudder) affect the airplane's attitude; how to read an aeronautical chart and measure a true course on the chart. 

After lunch the scouts were treated to a tour of the air traffic control tower so they can talk to controllers about information they learned in class and a career in air traffic control.  The highlight of the program allows the scouts to see a real F-16 up-close and to speak to a pilot about the aircraft and answer questions. 

A thorough written examination is the last part of the program the scouts must pass to earn the merit badge.

According to Brian Estler, Senior District Executive, South Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America, the Aviation Merit Badge is considered one of the hardest of the 121 badges a Boy Scout can earn.

Four times a year Homestead ARB is host to the program.  For more information on the merit badge prorgram or other scouting programs contact the South Florida Boy Scout Council at (954) 584-4200 or their web site at http://www.sfcbsa.org/