More than 50 Scouts learnt about aviation, including air traffic control, at a Regional Activity Day put on by the Scouts NSW Air Activity Centre. 

Volunteer pilots from the centre brought three Scouts Cessna aircraft to the Central Coast Aero Club at Warnervale airport with Scouts enjoying a 30-minute flight around the region. 

It was third time lucky for those involved, with events in March and June postponed due to bad weather. 

Air Activity Leader Leon Harris said they approach each event assuming the young people have never flown before. 

“Of course, quite a few may have flown in the commercial aircraft, but they’re in a terminal somewhere with thousands of others, and then they go into an aircraft and sit with maybe 200 to 300 other people,” he said. 

“They never get the chance to see what actually happens. How does the aircraft fly? What does it take to fly an aeroplane? 

“We hope that other than the thrill of being up there, they get an understanding of what flight is all about.” 

Scouts NSW has been running its air activities program since 1972, with tens of thousands of Scouts and Girl Guides developing a greater understanding of flight or starting the journey to become commercial pilots themselves. 

Learn more about the Scouts Air Activity Centre regional program here.