A few months ago, we were delighted to share with the community that one of our senior air cadets was selected to participate in the Power Pilot Training Course through the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. This was a significant accomplishment as a cadet needs to pass a timed written ground school examination, have excellent academic grades, interview well in a panel board (six people interviewing you at once) and be recommended by the Commanding Officer. Competition at a national level is high as only a select number of cadets are chosen for the limited number of spots available each year for this summer program.
W01 Kayla Evenson was a successful applicant from our local 858 Skookumchuk Squadron on the Sunshine Coast! She was at the Quadra cadet training camp in Comox, B.C. for seven weeks this summer. From there she travelled almost daily to the Sealand Flight School in Cambell River. The program was intensive as the training started at 8 a.m. and ran until 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
The first requirement of the course was that a cadet needed to successfully complete a solo flight within 14 hours of flying with an instructor and all the cadets successfully passed. The second requirement was that the cadets were expected to pass the Transport Canada written test. The final requirement was to complete a flight test graded by a Transport Canada employee. There were 12 out of 16 cadets who successfully passed all of the requirements; W01 Kayla Evenson was one of them and earned her personal pilot license!
The coolest thing about her graduation ceremony is that a high-ranking officer flew in on his CF-18 (jet) to present the cadets with their wings! How amazing is that?! Kayla was so inspired by her experiences that she is now in the process of applying for membership at the local Elphinstone Aeroclub and is researching options to pursue her commercial pilot training.
The Power Pilot Training program is a wonderful experience that is fully funded by the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. If you are between the ages of 12 and 18 years and might be interested in joining us, we meet every Wednesday at the West Sechelt Elementary school from 6 to 8:30 p.m. We are also hosting a free community event, called All About Flight at the Sechelt Airport on Sept. 23, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., showcasing all that the cadets do in our squadron (i.e. orienteering), various planes will be on display, a DeLorean DMC-12 (technically it did fly … in the movies), prizes and free hotdogs! We hope to see you there!
