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Youths will get new perspective of their world next week
— Annual ACE Academy organized by Aeronautics —

What does our piece of earth look like from the air, and what does it take to view it from that perspective?

Teenagers from throughout Idaho will discover answers to those questions next week when they participated in the annual ACE (Aviation Career Education) Academy sponsored by ITD’s Division of Aeronautics.

More than two-dozen youths are expected for the three-day educational camp beginning Monday.

After a welcome at the division office on Rickenbacker Road, students will travel the National Interagency Fire Center operated by federal agencies near the Boise Airport. The remainder of the day includes lunch, a tour of Gowen Field and a tour of Goddard Rockets.

Students, who generally range in age between 14 and 18, will remain on the ground Tuesday with a tour of the Caldwell Airport, “Elevate Your Life,” a program by Greg Poe, lunch, “Life’s the PITTS,” by Scotty Crandlemire, a trip to Boise State University and a late-afternoon career forum, pizza meal at Aeronautics.

The aviation experience gets off the ground on the final day, beginning with an early breakfast, a crew briefing and navigation flights to nearby airstrips. Participants will be assigned to small aircraft flown by volunteers who donate the use of their planes. Students will learn how flights plans are developed before taking to the skies.

After the morning flights, they will tour Warhawk Air Museum and the Mission Aviation Fellowship facility in Nampa, tour R & M Steel in the afternoon and conclude with a picnic.

This year’s ACE Academy will be Frank Lester’s swan song. He will retire from ITD as Aeronautics safety/education coordinator this month after organizing the ACE academy for many years.