I asked him how did he come to know of the Aeronautical Dolphins. He replied that his knowledge of the class came from various newspaper articles and T.V. coverage about the group.
From our conversation, I learned that Mr. Frink is a private pilot and he has experience in the private and military sector of aviation. Emory is a Capital Hill resident and he has previously owned 6 airplanes including a military trainer and an open cockpit biplane. Emory has served in the Civil Air Patrol Search and Rescue Squadron and he is a member of the following: Experimental Aircraft Association, Aircrafts Owners and Pilots Association and the Soaring Society of America. Fortunately, Emory asked if he could come by the class and share his aviation knowledge with my students? I couldn’t say yes fat enough.
Next, I spoke with my students and they were also delighted about Emory’s upcoming visit. When Emory arrived on campus he had some flight videos and books with aircraft specifications and log sheets. These sheets gave the names of various aircraft, the manufacturers, speed, weight, ceiling and parts breakdown from the stringers to the formers.
Emory also lectured with the students about their career paths, while covering both civilian and military aviation possibilities. He explained the pros and cons for both entities of aviation.
Finally, Emory talked about the aircraft that he owned and flew. Most of Emory’s private flying occurred around the West Coast of the United States.
He also likes to flying gliders. He said that gliding is the most natural form of flying that one can experience. With gliding, it’s just you and the the elements of nature, and he added if the conditions are right, you can glide for up to five hours at a time.
Emory wants to come back in the future and share some more aviation materials with the students. Emory’s visit was a win win experience, what I mean is that he really enjoyed sharing his aviation experience with the students and the students really enjoyed accepting his unique knowledge.
Currently the class is focusing on the era between WWI and WWII. Billy Mitchell, the barnstormers, and crossing the Atlantic by airplane were key components witin this time frame.
Weight and Balance as well as power, work, datum lines, arms, moments, fuselage stations and the different types of levers in respect to aircraft functions are also being discussed. Mathematical computations are a must.
The writer is the teacher of the aviation class at Marianas High School.
