Welcome to North Cork Scout County

Glanworth Scouts recently took a trip to Mahon to go ice skating.

Pictures Can be seen here

Charleville Scout Group had a great Day Out on Saturday 12th with the Beavers, Cubs & Scouts together as one large group.
We had 44 Youth Members in total, aged from 6 to 16, with 11 Leaders & Adults.
 
Agenda for the day :
 
Visit to Coonagh Airfield & Aerodrome, the home of the Limerick Flying Club where we met a Pilot & Flight Instructor from the club.  All the kids got to get up close to the recently acquired Tecnam and AT-3 R100 aircraft.  The instructor started off by asking the group the question "How does the aircraft manage to fly ?".  They had been well-prepared from work that the Leaders did with them at weekly meetings and from homework assignments. 

Daniel Kennedy was very quick to respond with a detailed explanation of how the design of the airplane's wing allows it to be lifted up due to the difference in air pressure between the top and bottom of the wing.  The flight instructor was so impressed with Daniel's answer that he asked him to sit in the cockpit and to operate the controls so that we all could see how they changed the position of the Ailerons, Elevators and Rudder on the aircraft.  We were also shown how the Flaps worked and why they are used during Take Off and Landing.

All of the other Beavers, Cubs & Scouts then got to sit inside the aircraft to try out the controls for themselves.  One of the other pilots performed a Take Off, Low Fly Over and Landing in the Tecnam aircraft in front of us before we left, which was a treat.

 
Visit to the "Air-Side" of Shannon Airport, where we were escorted by the Shannon Airport Police & Emergency Services and got to ride the Giant 8-Wheeler Fire Trucks with lights & sirens on, next to the Runway.  We also got to go up to the lookout tower and command center and checked out the Emergency Base Area. W

We were taken on a ride around the runway and taxi area to see the aircraft & airport staff working up close.  This included a visit to the hangar for the Rescue Helicopter from the TV Series "Rescue 115" which is equipped with Infra Red Camera and Winch to help in Sea and Mountain Rescue.  We also saw up close the spot where the Aer Arann airplane recently lost its front wheel and skidded to a stop on the runway.  The Emergency Crew told us that they had managed to get to that site within 90 seconds of getting the Alarm Call, which is something that they are very proud of.  Luckily, nobody was seriously hurt. 

To our great surprise, we also got a Display from the Emergency Services staff where they made a Rainbow from the water Cannons mounted on top of the giant Fire Engines.  Thanks to Tom Galvin for helping to organize this with the Shannon Airport Police & Emergency Services.  Thanks also to the DAA and to Shannon Air Traffic Control for allowing us to use the runway in between landings & take offs.

 
Visit to Atlantic AirVentures in Shannon, for a taste of the "Young Pilot's Experience".  This covered 2 hours in total, including a class in Flight Theory, a visit to the Flight Museum and 30 mins each on a flight simulator where they had to Take Off, Fly in a particular Heading and Land the aircraft. They learned how the panel instruments worked and were able to put into practice, all of the theory they had learned.  The instructors commented that there were several budding pilots in the group.
 
This qualifies all of the youth members who attended, for an Air Badge which will be distributed to them shortly.  There may be a few who want to progress further with higher levels of the Air Badge Training, but this will take more work on their part and maybe another visit to an airfield or flight simulator. 

 
Feedback from youth members, leaders, parents & those who volunteered from Limerick Flying Club and Shannon Police & Emergency Services was very positive.  Thanks to all the leaders and helpers who made themselves available for the day.  We could not have done it without them. 

We still have a few more places left in the Beaver & Cub sections, but they are limited to a first come, first served basis and we would ask parents to offer to help the group in return.  Drop into the weekly meetings in the Scout Hall if you are interested.  We have Cubs on Mondays 6:30PM to 8PM for Boys & Girls aged 9-11.  We have Beavers on Wednesdays 6:30PM to 7:30PM (ages 6-8) .
 
Mike Mullins, Group Leader.

Mallow scouts recently climbed Stoompa mountain starting from lough Guitane outside Glenflesk Co Kerry. Pictures can be seen by clicking this link

Attachments:

Sunday Route	[Route Card For Sunday]	40 Kb
Saturday Route	[Route Card For Saturday]	43 Kb