From the Flight Deck

Marshfield Airport Commissioner Patrick MacAlister, center right, and Shoreline Aviation Director of Operations P.J. Flanagan introduced visiting Scouts to a Cessna single-prop plane, in pursuit of their Aviation Merit Badges.

Scouts from local troops 101 and 424 got a lesson in pre-flight preparation at Marshfield Municipal Airport (KGHG) as well as some up-close lessons in aviation physics. They took these and other steps to earn their badges.

Patrick and his wife, Erin, led the Scouts, including their daughter, Peri, on a tour of a propeller plane Monday, August 14, with Shoreline Aviation Director of Operations P.J. Flanagan. Patrick took the Scouts through preflight checklist steps, and P.J. described how the plane’s mechanical functions work.

Scouts from Marshfield troops 101 and 424 gather outside the terminal building for their visit to Marshfield Municipal Airport.

Patrick and P.J. earned their pilot’s licenses in their early 20s. Patrick flew small prop planes and eventually helicopters. P.J. went on to become a pilot for Delta Air Lines and flew jets all over the world. He also served as Delta’s chief pilot. Becoming Shoreline’s DO after retiring from Delta keeps him at home on the South Shore, where he lives with his wife.

Shoreline Aviation is the fixed base operator for Marshfield Municipal Airport. An FBO is the company that manages an airport for its owner, which in this case is the town of Marshfield. Shoreline has been the FBO at KGHG since 1981. Visit www.shorelineaviation.net

Patrick took the Scouts, ages 11-16, through the steps of a preflight checklist, from how to be sure the fuel is okay, to checking the antenna and lights, and even inspecting rivets on the wings.

Patrick MacAlister describes the construction of this Cessna airplane to Marshfield Scouts.

He also had each Scout sit in the cockpit, where he explained instrumentation and showed how turning and moving the wheel affect the wing flaps, front and back.

P.J. explained some of the physics involved. He described how propellor shape and curve design results in a plane being propelled forward. He also described the design of the plane’s wing shape, called an airfoil. The wing is slightly rounded on top and flat on the bottom and tapers back. The result causes pressure from under the wing to raise a plane against the lessor pressure on top. P.J. told the Scouts that this was the scientific principle known as the Bernoulli Effect at work. (That principle was developed by Dutch-born Swiss mathematician and physicist Daniel Bernoulli and published in 1783.)

Patrick MacAlister tells these Scouts about the Cessna’s instrumentation.

Following the prop plane lessons, P.J. took the Scouts into Shoreline’s jet hangar to investigate a Citation jet. He and Patrick presented more lessons in aviation technology while giving the Scouts the opportunity to see a business-class jet up close, inside and out. The prop plane cockpit was pretty cool to experience – but the jet cockpit drew audible gasps. Something about sitting in the pilot’s seat amid a sea of instruments.

Shoreline Aviation Line Services Technician Callie Almeder talks to Marshfield Scouts about the Citation jets in the hangar.

The Scouts satisfied the list of requirements to earn their Aviation Merit Badges. Scouts have to complete six action steps in five categories of tasks to earn the badge.

“We were able to get through all of the requirements,” Patrick said. “The kids had flown in the past or used a flight simulator. The highlight was going into the Citation and P.J. letting each kid sit in the pilot seat! After, we all made and tested foam airplanes on the grass and went over the remaining requirements, including airports, aviation carriers, different types of engines and took questions.”

Learn more about troops 101 and 424 here: www.troop101marshfield.org and www.troop101marshfield.org.