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Merit Badges
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Aviation Merit Badge Update
A message from Charley Taylor
Art Hayssen, PCAM’s Educator Emeritus, is diligently working to gain approval for online classroom sessions from the national offices of Scouts of America. The Saturday, May 16th Aviation Merit Badge class has been POSTPONED until we are able to conduct online classes. We are hoping for a date in June and will announce the date as soon as we have it confirmed.
PCAM Docent-led tours of historic aircraft, hands-on riveting class, control tower tours, and airplane flights will be scheduled later this year or 2021 as social distancing rules AND age precautions are relaxed. This postponement also affects the October 2019 class which was scheduled to take their flights at the May 16th event. The October 17th, 2020, Aviation Merit Badge classroom session will also be conducted online and the visit to PCAM scheduled at a later date. In the meantime: STAY SAFE
Earn Your Merit Badge in Aviation
A one-day class that earns a Merit Badge in Aviation. The course follows the curriculum requirements established by the Boy Scouts of America.
The Boy Scout Merit Badge Class is a great weekend activity for kids and young adults involved in Scouting. It is a rare opportunity to earn a Merit Badge in an environment perfectly suited to it: at an institution devoted to education, taught by experienced aviators, at an airport where they can sit in a real airplane and go flying as the grand finale.
We’ve held many sessions of this class over the past several years, and they always get a great response and a lot of students. If you intend to register we suggest you do so well in advance because the classes often fill up. The Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge Class at the Pacific Coast Air Museum attracts students from all over the Bay Area and Northern California, and is one of the few that offers as much hands-on experience and access to actual airworthy aircraft.
Advance reservations are required. Register Now for 2020 classes using the online form on the Boy Scouts of America Redwood Empire Council website. Registration links for 2020 classes will be available soon.
Course Information:
2020 Class Dates:
May 16, 2020 – Postponed
October 17, 2020 – Online
Tuition:
$70.00 per student
Activities:
- Fly our simulator
- Hear from multiple aviator guest speakers
- Visit a control tower
- Fly with an FAA licensed pilot *
Syllabus:
- Kinds of aircraft
- Physics of flight
- Aircraft engines
- Careers in aviation
Instructor
Instructor Art Hayssen is a fully vetted, approved Merit Badge Counselor with Boy Scouts of America and he signs off on the Merit Badge completion forms.
- Art is a 5-time NAFI Master Instructor
- FAA FAASTeam Lead Representative in the North San Francisco Bay Area
- ATP and active Flight Instructor since 1980
- Over 8,000 hours of flight instruction
- Instructor certificate – airplane single, multi-engine, land and sea, and instrument ratings.
- Recipient of an AOPA and eight FAA Flight Safety Awards.
- Designated as California’s first Master Instructor Emeritus.
- Taught Aviation, Meteorology, and Geography at the Santa Rosa Junior College for the past 33 years.
* About that graduation flight: Students will get into the cockpit of a real aircraft, and experience everything from strapping in safely, to communicating with the control tower, to flying the pattern in preparation for landing. Nothing beats the thrill of feeling that engine rev for takeoff, and your Boy Scout will experience it first-hand!
Bring Your Lunch
Registration Information:
Registration is limited to 20 students on a first-come-first-served basis. If there are more than 20 registrants, we will put them on a waiting list in the order they were received. Registration closes five days before each class.
Hours
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Wednesay
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Email Sign-up
* To protect your privacy, we will send you an email so you can verify your registration. Click the link in the email and follow the instructions.
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