Cadet Warrant Officer Second Class (WO2) August McClellan, of Comox, is spending a summer earning his private pilot licence in Boundary Bay, with the air cadet program.
WO2 McClellan is one of 34 cadets to receive a scholarship from the Department of National Defence, which covers his flying lessons with Canadian Flight Centre in Boundary Bay, his accommodation and travel. He is part of a group of 12 cadets who are training together at the airport in Delta.
McClellan has recently completed his first solo flight and described the experience.
“I thought, wow… I am alone in this plane! I don’t have any back-up if I make a mistake. So I just concentrated on flying and doing my best.”
He is now comfortable in the cockpit and enjoys being in charge of decisions in many different situations.
With a father who was a cadet and went on to be a pilot with the Canadian Armed Forces, it was not surprising that WO2 McClellan joined cadets at his dad’s suggestion. He soon realized there was more to the program and found himself loving a survival weekend where he learned how to survive alone in the Canadian wilderness. t went to his first Summer Training Camp and loved every moment especially when he went up in a Cessna with his friends from the program.
WO2 McClelland received another scholarship last summer and became a glider pilot.
“I just love going to the gliding field at weekends,” he said.
On the field, he volunteers many hours and helps cadets from many squadron experience the quiet exhilaration of flying in a glider. Having gained additional experience, he has qualified to fly other cadets in the glider.
By the end of the summer, he hopes to have passed all the required tests and be qualified as a private pilot.
There are many summer training courses attended by approximately 20,000 sea, army and air cadets across Canada this summer.
The Cadet Program is for youth 12-18 years of age. The aim of the Cadet Program is to install in youth the attributes of leadership, citizenship, physical fFitness and an interest in the air, land and sea activities of the Canadian Armed Forces .