Civil Air Patrol wrapping up major training at Columbus, Camp Atterbury

The Civil Air Patrol has been holding its largest training activity of the year – the National Emergency Services Academy, at Camp Atterbury and Columbus Municipal Airport.

According to an announcement from the U.S. Air Force, the academy hosted 52 Air Force officers from 38 bases around the world. In addition to its Air Force students, more than 500 CAP members have participated in NESA this year from every state.

The Columbus event has included a new Pilot Prep Program — a Civil Air Patrol introduction to aviation designed to identify future fliers. That program provided six to eight hours of actual flight from Columbus Municipal Airport along with ground instruction and additional training time in flight simulators. The goal is to make the participants competitive for the Air Force’ Undergraduate Flight Training Selection Board in September.

Brian Payne, the city’s airport director, says that the event has had more than 600 takeoffs from the airport over the past few weeks and led to a significant amount of fuel sales for the airport.

The activities are slated to wrap up this weekend. You can get more information about the Pilot Prep Program here.