The Scouts Australia, NSW Air Activities Centre based at Camden Airport had a very busy start to 2016.
Over ten days in January, in conjunction with the 24th Australian Scout Jamboree, the Centre introduced 822 youth members from across Australia to the joy of general aviation using the Scouts fleet of owned and operated Cessna 172s. This was followed by a terrific weekend during Women of Aviation Worldwide week in early March, where 48 Girl Guides were also introduced to flying and met with members from the RAAF during their visit to the centre.
The Scouts Air Activities Centre commenced operations in 1972 using a borrowed Cessna 150 and in true Scouting fashion, operated from a tent. Wholly staffed by volunteers, the centre has grown to now owning four Cessna 172s (two C172Rs and two C172S models, including one with G1000), an approved AT21 synthetic trainer, and also operates a flying school at Camden with four volunteer instructors.
The centre’s primary mission is to introduce youth to aviation, with around 1200 Cubs, Scouts, and Girl Guides completing an Air Activity Badge Course each year, requiring some classroom instruction, flight simulators, an airside guided walk, and a 20-minute flight.
Since inception, this has added up to around 50,000 youth introduced to general aviation, many for the very first time. The ongoing success of the centre is certainly due to the enthusiastic and committed adult volunteers who have a real passion for aviation and take great pride in encouraging our young Aussies to reach their full potential.
Although its focus is clearly on youth, the centre’s flying school still manages to produce a handful of PPLs and a number of ratings each year. The flying school also endeavours to deliver two or more residential Air Venture flying camps during school holidays each year for up to 10 ab-initio students each. This involves a week long intensive ground school and approximately 10 hours instructional flying, with a view to get the students to firsth solo standard. The students can then continue with their training at the centre at their own pace.
When no youth activities are scheduled, the volunteer centre members enjoy the club-type atmosphere, heightened by regular flyaways and flying competitions to keep their skills sharp.
Future aims for the Centre include offering flying scholarships for disadvantaged youth, flying more disabled groups, and to maintain a modern aircraft fleet. Centre volunteers come from all walks of life, and new members are always welcome.
The Scouts Australia, NSW Air Activities Centre will have a static display and one of their aircraft at Wings Over Illawarra at Albion Park from 30 April to 1May. http://www.nsw.scouts.com.au/air/