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Aero's Mike Pape helps Boy Scouts earn merit badge

The faces of aviation looked younger last week when eight Boy Scouts set about earning an aviation merit badge at ITD’s Division of Aeronautics.

Mike Pape, division administrator and a Scout leader, gave the young flying enthusiasts a look at typical cockpit controls and explained how the controls worked. Each Scout then assembled a glider aircraft using a Styrofoam plate, a penny and a cutting template.

Later, the Scouts visited the Aeronautics hangar for an up-close look at the three aircraft ITD maintains for state-agency use. Pape showed how a pilot goes about a pre-flight check and how the flaps and rudder of an aircraft are controlled from the cockpit.

A highlight of the morning’s activities was a tour of the Boise Airport Control Tower where the Scouts had an opportunity to talk with air-traffic controllers.

“ITD has hosted the Aviation Career Exploration (ACE) Academy for many years that encourages young people to consider careers in aviation,” Pape said. “It’s important to get more young people interested in aviation because we are experiencing a 50-year low for new private pilots.”

“These Scouts are the responsible kids. They are the future pilots and astronauts, they are the future leaders, and I thoroughly enjoy working with them,” he said. “Maybe we can spark interest in some that have never thought of an aviation career.”

The Boy Scouts of America currently offer 129 merit badges, including aviation, that encourage Scouts to explore areas that interest them and teach them valuable skills. Scouts earn a merit badge by satisfying specified criteria.

Merit badges have been an integral part of the Scouting program since the start of the movement in the United Kingdom on Aug. 1, 1907, and then the United States in 1910.

(Top and above) Mike Pape guides a group of Boy Scouts through the steps necessary for them to earn an aviation merit badge.