Teen soars high in Civil Air Patrol
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

FUTURE FIGHTER PILOT- Camarillo resident Pamela Bean, 16, prepares a Cessna airplane for flight at the Camarillo Airport. The teen is a cadet with a local chapter of the Civil Air Patrol. Bean said she joined the program to help her achieve her goal of becoming a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Pamela Bean has always dreamed of flying.

And even though the 16year-old high school junior from Simi Valley doesn't have her driver's permit yet, the determined teen took her first solo flight in October.

Pamela said she plans to pilot F-22A Raptors for the Air Force after graduating from college and has mapped out her route to the fighter plane's cockpit as a cadet with the Camarillo chapter of the Civil Air Patrol.

The aspiring fighter pilot learned of the cadet program while taking flight lessons at the Camarillo Airport.

"I just fell in love with the place, and I couldn't leave," she said.

Founded in the late 1930s, the 60,000-member Civil Air Patrol is the national auxiliary arm of the U.S. Air Force. The patrol, which performs 95 percent of all search and rescue efforts throughout the United States, helped save Katrina victims and assisted with damage assessment of the Twin Towers in the days following 9/11.

The patrol's cadet program focuses on aerospace education for its members and the public, operating a cadet program for youth ages 12 to 21 and helping in disaster, humanitarian and Homeland Security missions.

Pamela is one of 16 cadets and 34 adult members of Squadron 61, the local patrol team that operates out of a set of WWIIera bungalows in the Camarillo Airport.

For $25 a year, cadets learn about aerospace and practice on a flight simulator designed with realistic cockpit controls.

Civil Air Patrol Capt. Anthony Schlotthauer is one of the squadron's teachers and pilots who take the cadets flying in the patrol's Cessna 182 and other military aircraft at least four times a year.

Schlotthauer, a mortgage banker in Moorpark, devotes about six hours a week to his patrol duties.

Those hours can quickly multiply in an emergency when the patrol is called to search for a downed airplane.

Schlotthauer said he decided to become a pilot about 12 years ago after watching military planes perform aerial acrobatics at one of the many air shows he'd attended over the years.

The New York native eventually earned a pilot's license and in 1997 joined the Civil Air Patrol. He made captain last year.

"I wanted to save lives- that was an exciting thought to me," said Schlotthauer, a Simi Valley resident.

Schlotthauer disagrees with those who might say the cadet program is a camouflaged means of grooming adolescents for the military.

"This gives them the opportunity of a lifetime," he said. "This just builds character, self discipline; it motivates them. It's a building-block for them."

Schlotthauer said he doesn't worry about his cadets getting involved with drugs or joining gangs.

"They get so much exposure to good things that I think it gives them good judgment," he added.

Camarillo resident Curtis Park said that since his teenage son, Curt, joined the program, the youngster has become more mature and shows greater respect to adults.

"He's very focused and a good kid," Park said. "I think the Civil Air Patrol has allowed him to channel all of his energies."

Curt, a junior at Adolfo Camarillo High School who's working toward a pilot's license, is a cadet staff sergeant planning to attend an aeronautical college after graduating.

He eventually wants a career in the Marines.

The cadet program "is a great thing to do," Curt said.

"It gives me discipline; it gives me focus . . . How many 16-year-olds can go out on ground search and rescue teams looking for downed aircraft?" he said.

Curt's father said the adults in the patrol are "good role models" who seem to enjoy working with teenagers.

Brenda and Mike Bean, who also comes from a military family, said Pamela's participation in the patrol has also taught her how to handle greater responsibility. Pamela must fit in weekly patrol classes and activities with the responsibilities of school and a part-time job.

Pamela plans on fulfilling all the requirements for becoming a fully licensed private pilot by Sept. 13- when she turns 17.

"She's never wavered off this, not once," Mike said.

Pamela "just loves being in the air," Brenda said. "I have a 16-year-old (daughter) with goals and accomplishments who knows what she wants to do with her life, and for me that's worth it."

Mike, Brenda and Pamela Bean plan to man the Sky Blue Air booth at the Point Mugu air show at the Naval Base Ventura County on March 31 and April 1.

For more information about the Civil Air Patrol, please call (805) 482-2212.