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Health & Fitness

Bethel Navy JROTC Cadets go flying!

With the modern age progressing in leaps and bounds, it is no longer enough to learn within the walls of a classroom. Senior Naval Science Instructor, Lt. Commander Mark Dwinells of the Bethel Navy JROTC unit, understands that students need to expand their sense of wonder and desire for growth through experiential learning. With the support of the Bethel Public Schools, Dwinells does so by taking his students outside the classroom to see the world through a different perspective.

Or, in this case, 5,000 feet above the ground.

The Naval Science curriculum of all Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training programs includes a unit on general physics, navigation, motion and buoyancy, ballistics, meteorology, and other sciences that directly apply to flight.  Although these can easily be taught from a textbook and a powerpoint presentation in class, the best way to realistically apply these topics is to get in a plane and experience the forces of physics and the lessons of science-technology-engineering-math (STEM) first-hand.

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After flying and developing an appreciation for the complexities of aviation, Cadet Abhishek Panigrahi felt that, “Rather than just reading a book about aviation or quizzing online about it, we were tested on our ability to actually perform the activity. This demands a different type of learning, one that requires one to fully understand and analyze concepts, rather than memorize them, as well as how to apply them.”

Flying forced the cadets to expand their minds, depend on their knowledge, letting words like “velocity”, “lift”, and “drag” all come to life.

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But in order to do so, the cadets trained for several weeks to truly understand the plane they would fly, conceptualize the process of flying, and gain knowledge about aircraft controls, instruments and the basic maneuvers of flight.  

With a flight simulator purchased by the Bethel Navy JROTC Boosters, who also help offset the cost of the trip, the cadets have learned “how to fly” in class for the past few weeks.  Each cadet learned the six primary flight instruments, used google-earth to study geographic waypoints and to measure distance, learned to calculate their flight time using the 3-minute rule of speed / time / distance, and used the flight simulator to achieve their first “solo”.

In order to accurately solo they had to use the simulator to successfully take off, level off, conduct controlled turns, use the throttle to control pitch attitude, and then successfully land using the Precision Approach Path Indicator lights.  Doing all of this in the class forces the cadets to think in 3-dimensions. But, there is nothing like an actual flight to bring it all to life.  

Safety is paramount, so Lt. Cdr. Dwinells conducts a safety assessment before taking the cadets flying. As the cadets have learned in their meteorology unit, it is essential that they only go on days when the weather is clear and winds are light.

With a clear sky, a bright autumn sun and the New England foliage at peak, the weather this year could not have been more ideal.

The cadets took off from Danbury, flew 25 miles to Bridgeport where they landed and switched co-pilots, then flew 25 miles to Oxford, then back to Danbury. The cadets completed their introductory flights under the direct control of the experienced flight instructors from Arrow Aviation, a flight school on Miry Brook Rd. in Danbury.  The instructor pilots were impressed with the background knowledge of the cadets as they each got their 30 minutes of “stick time”.

Here, the cadets were actually in control. Many cadets agree with Panigrahi that, ”rather than just reading a book about aviation or quizzing online about it, we were tested on our ability to actually perform the activity.”

This knowledge is not fleeting; it stays with the cadets and six former Bethel cadets work in aviation careers, including one who is a C-17 pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Panigrahi also commented that, “aviation teaches a myriad of valuable skills that can be used outside of the cockpit. For example, a pilot must think in three-dimensions (which expands the mind), have self-control and practice self discipline; all intangible qualities that are of incalculable importance.”

The cadets would like to thank Bethel Public Schools for sponsoring the trip, the Bethel NJROTC Boosters for helping offset the cost, and Mrs. Joan Sherwood and her professional staff of instructor pilots at Arrow Aviation for making the trip possible.

This article was collaboratively written by the cadets using the Bethel Google Enterprise and shared Google Docs. 
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