Spaces remain in July Aerospace Career Education

LACONIA — WinnAero, the Laconia Airport-based aviation-themed nonprofit organization, has announced that about 20 seats remain for its summer 2019 ACE Academies.

The ACE name is derived from the WinnAero mission which, in part, is to provide Aerospace Career Education or ACE. WinnAero Educational Services Director Dan Caron promises a diverse daily activities schedule, no matter what age group is involved.

Caron pointed out that word-of-mouth publicity has already generated 61 registrations for the 80 available seats. The sessions are scheduled by grade years, with the ACE Academy for grades 9-12 scheduled for July 8-12. The dual-track session is designed for older students as well as for those students with prior flight experience. The Track One emphasis will be on becoming a pilot or aerospace engineer/aviation manufacturing, while Track Two will emphasize drones and their growing role in commerce, science and technology.

Middle school students, grades 6-8, will meet on July 15-19. The students will have a choice of three educational strands: Pilot/Air Traffic Control, Pilot/Search & Rescue, and Pilot/Aerospace engineering/manufacturing.

A Space Academy for middle school youths in grades 6-9 will meet on July 8-12, with rocketry, astronomy and space station design and operations as themes.

Half-day ACE sessions for elementary-age students in grades 3-5 will take place on July 8-12 and again on July 15-19, informing younger students about technology in aviation and aerospace and the eventual career opportunities for STEM subjects with an aviation/aerospace foundation.

The ACE Academies are one-week, full-day sessions for middle and high school students and half-day for elementary school students. All sessions will take place at the Laconia Airport, with off-site field trips included.

The instructional staff, besides Caron, the Civil Air Patrol’s 2013 Teacher of the Year, includes New Hampshire-certified teachers, licensed pilots, air traffic controllers and airport managers. The camps offer true hands-on experience, including orientation flights for all students.

For additional information about the ACE Academies, including tuition, registration and scholarship opportunities, see www.winnaero.org. Caron invites all parents and potential students to review the website information to learn more about the unique aviation-based experience and photos of past ACE Academies. He also recommends reviewing the WinnAero current newsletter, also online, for photos of ACE students in action.

Contact Caron at dan.caron@winnaero.org.