By Emanuel Block

This narrative is my recollection of flight encampments from 1968 to 2003. I have much documentation of most of these encampments. I reviewed this documentation with Tom Woods when he prepared his material on flight encampment history. Another good source of data is John T. Johnson, former wing commander, who was flight encampment commander for many years.

I believe that the first encampment was held at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, in 1968. It was at that encampment that the only accident in the history of flight encampments occurred. I think a cadet on first solo got into a crow-hopping situation. The nose strut broke off and other damage occurred. The cadet was uninjured.

I attended the next encampment at the Duluth airport in 1969. We stayed in the National Guard barracks. It was the most stressful of all encampments. Each instructor was assigned three cadets. Two instructors shared an airplane. We flew from dawn to dusk. We were younger in those days and stayed up until the wee hours having fun. The cadets soloed among practicing 727s and F106s. In those days we allowed the cadets to solo in the practice area after their first solo. This created other safety challenges.

In 1970, the encampment moved to Waseca where it remained for many years. At first there were no buildings on the airport. We stayed at the University of Minnesota facility. The airport was new and had a grass runway. Eventually, hangars and a terminal building were erected. A few years later, the airport closed to blacktop the runway. We moved the flying to Owatona that year. The next year, the new runway was dedicated during the encampment and the CAP participated in the dedication ceremony.

The following years saw a less stressful approach to managing the encampment. Each instructor was assigned an airplane and two cadets. This improved safety and also resulted in better instruction since instructors could spend more time with their students. No cadet solos were allowed after their first solo. This practice is still followed. Much instructional, safety, and logistical information was written and presented in the form of an encampment tutorial handout. The current version is quite elaborate and includes many pictures and much training information.

After more than twenty years at Waseca, where we enjoyed good relations with the local people, the university facilities were closed and we moved to Mankato. During the final years at Waseca, we stayed in motels but the cost was more than the encampment could afford. At Mankato, we stayed at Mankato University facilities. We had the support of the local fixed base operator, as we had at Waseca, and the advantage of a much larger airport and many more facilities. Most of the training however, both at Waseca and Mankato, occurred at outlying airports including Dodge Center, Wells, Albert Lea, Austin, Sleepy Eye, Owatona, Fairbault, and St. Peter.

The past two years, encampment personnel have stayed at the facilities of Gustavus Adolfus College in St. Peter, approximately ten miles from the Mankato airport.

Over the years we have soloed more than 500 cadets. Most have been boys but a sizeable minority of girls has also participated. We have soloed almost all cadets at the encampments. In the interest of safety, we have deemphasized soloing as an objective of the current Flight Academy. This has reduced the stress of trying to solo everyone and has improved safety margins. There were about 35 cadets at the Duluth encampment and there have been from 12 to 42 cadets at the encampments since then. The number has been increasing in recent years, especially since adding a glider component two years ago. Also, more cadets, instructors, and aircraft have been attending from other wings.

This narrative has been necessarily brief. There are dozens of anecdotes that are best told in person, or tape recorded. For example, the shooting of Jim Bates while on final with a student, or George Cobley’s remonstrations to the pilots of a jet that did not use the radio at Owatona, or Andy Detroi’s conversation with a pilot at Waseca who did not use the radio and many more.

The encampment has been much publicized in Minnesota newspapers, TV programs, and on radio. I have some of the newspaper articles but none of the TV videos. One in particular I wish I had is a clip of me taking off in a T34 with a student. It was filmed by a KSTP helicopter that flew alongside. When we had T34s and Bird Dogs, we would give soloed students demonstration rides in these aircraft. It was quite a thrill for them.

For many years, the Air National Guard provided and manned a portable control tower at Waseca. This was a significant safety addition. For a few years, the guard also brought a helicopter and gave rides to encampment personnel.

Other perspectives and more depth may be obtained from other encampment staff who have attend most of the sessions including Mike Hartel, Gerry Quilling, Larry Sloan, George Cobley, and others.

Manny Block
May 3, 2004
Charter Member
MNWG Flight Academy

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