2 minute read

In a stunning display of youthful prowess and innovative thinking, the Ohio Wing’s Cuyahoga County Cadet Squadron snagged the top spot in the revered yet underfunded Civil Air Patrol’s fourth High-Altitude Balloon Challenge. Their prize? A cool $5,000, which is probably equivalent to the average cost of a new textbook in college, and the sweet, sweet Kittinger Cup trophy. Their victory came from a rather lofty experiment involving Faraday fabric and the questionable premise of saving doomed electronics from epic solar flares. Score one for obscure solutions to even more obscure problems!

Taking the silver medal with a glint of nostalgia, the Stevens Point Composite Squadron from the Wisconsin Wing relied on advice from actual NASA specialists because, apparently, growing plants in outer space is still only a little bit easier than raising a teenage cadet. The Stevens Point cadets, previous year’s champs, have shown the resilience of weeds growing through concrete by coming back strong in second place. Better luck next time, team!

The challenge itself unfolded with dramatic intensity worthy of a reality TV subplot. More than 1,500 cadets and 250 Hyper-Motivated Adults (HMAs) from 167 squadrons tried their best not to lose control of over 400 small-scale science projects held in test tubes. Three balloons, as elusive as great ideas during finals week, ascended to altitudes most birds would shake their beaks at before returning to terra firma somewhere in the vast civilization of Indiana—or Ohio, depending on how ambitious the balloons felt that day.

Each industrious team contributed these gem-like components to the competition: an overly creative mission patch, a pre-launch video that should definitely win a small film festival, a report full of words like “stratospheric” and “ultraviolet,” and a post-launch video primarily of cadets saying, “Really, it DID work!”

Thanks to the dear sponsors at the Air & Space Forces Association (who are much better at launching checks than balloons), top scorers snagged a series of funding grants. Meanwhile, the Cuyahoga County team basked in their financial success, gearing up for a shopping spree on Arduino microcontrollers and Raspberry Pi’s—finally fulfilling the dream of every cadet to buy tech toys, truly for educational purposes, of course.

The launch and recovery, skillfully managed at Anderson Preparatory Academy, was practically a reunion with Indiana Wing who, once again, performed their role as the balloon rescue rangers, bravely crossing state lines to return wayward balloons. Speaking of intrepid feats, the Mighty Indiana Wing cadets kept the conversation alive through the CAP radio station in hopes of finally making small talk great again—or at least coherent.

Let’s not forget the talents honed: coding wizardry, soldering like experts, and video editing skills sharp enough to possibly snag a YouTube partnership deal. These stalwart cadets dared to dream high, proving that hard work, teamwork, and maybe some caffeine can achieve the near-impossible (or at least inflate balloons to record heights).

Meanwhile, back at Stevens Point, 1st Lt. Jessica Schaefer extolled the virtues of their near-victorious effort, reminding these young minds of what they can achieve when the stars (and budgets) align.

For the complete drama series and other behind-the-scenes scoop, immerse yourself in the HABC award slides and see every mission-critical micro-moment captured for posterity.

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