Student travels 8,000 miles to attend WinnAero summer Camp

LACONIA — Saipan, in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, is some 8,000 air miles from Laconia. But that was the journey undertaken by Saipan resident Soleil Lamar this summer. Soleil, a high school junior, hopes to become a pilot and aeronautical engineer. Using the Internet, she researched summer camps co-sponsored by the FAA with a concentration on engineering and aviation from a hands-on perspective. That search led her to several camps including WinnAero’s ACE Academies based at the Laconia Airport. “It was the ACE engineering component with actual flying operations that caught my interest,” stated Soleil.

The ACE curriculum includes hands-on activities with model rockets, drones and aircraft, tours of aviation-related facilities, guest speakers, flight simulators and actual flying. Besides engineering work, ACE students get to fly as passengers on a variety of aircraft including helicopters and then as co-pilots themselves in a Cessna or Beechcraft under the watchful eye of a Certified Flight Instructor.

When asked her favorite part of the ACE experience, Soleil said the highlight of her week was flying and doing maneuvers in the airplane. Soleil is the daughter of Dr. Daniel Lamar and Mrs. Roxie Lamar of Saipan. Mrs. Lamar accompanied her daughter on this journey to the States which also gave Soleil an opportunity to visit colleges offering majors in aeronautical engineering/pilot operations. The Lamars toured Embry-Riddle University, Oklahoma State and the University of North Dakota. Besides college tours and attending the ACE Academy, Soleil also participated in Summer Seminars at West Point, the Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy. This determined student is leaning towards one of the military academies as her college of choice with the USNA at Annapolis a favorite at this time. The WinnAero faculty were unanimous in their belief that whatever goals in engineering and aviation Ms. Lamar sets for herself, she will accomplish because of her knowledge, skills and determination. More information about WinnAero’s ACE Academies and its new aerospace partnership with Rogue Space Systems of Laconia is available at www.winnaero.org.