Logan Geis, Hillsboro, completed the Aviation Camp Experience at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson May 30 to June 3.

Geis will be a senior at Hillsboro High School this fall.

ACE provided students the opportunity to pilot a Cessna 172 for one hour, completing takeoff and landing with a certified flight instructor at their side.

While in the air, campers practiced different maneuvers taught by the instructor, including the zero-g dive that simulates weightlessness.

Students toured the Hutchinson airport and Hutchinson Hospital helipad, learned about the different career opportunities in aviation, and met with the air traffic control staff for a lesson in how pilots communicate with air traffic control and the protocol that must be followed to ensure safe air space.

Before making their flight, campers received grounds school training, used the flight computer, plotter, and aviation charts to plan their flight, learned how to determine the amount of fuel needed to fly, how to identify weather conditions, and the pre and post flight protocols.

In addition, campers built model airplanes, flew combat missions on the F-16 and F-101 simulators, engineered their own airplane wings, flew radio controlled airplanes, watched the IMAX® film, "Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag," and spent two hours as a passenger in the Cessna 172.

At a special evening banquet for the campers, McConnell Air Force pilots spoke to the group about their flight careers and the work they do at the base refueling wing station.