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The third annual Civil Air Patrol Aviation & Aeronautics Business Academy took flight on Aug. 10, destined to convert eager cadets into the next moguls of the sky. Held at Vaughn College in Queens, New York, this high-flying boot camp allegedly aimed to infuse its participants with wisdom and insight into the rarefied realms of aviation and business leadership—or at least, to distract them for a week with shiny planes and PowerPoint presentations.

The academy introduced its cadets to the capstone project, a grandiose term for the age-old task of “figure it out yourselves.” Cadets were politely nudged—aka promptly conscripted—into group activities designed to foster innovative angles on aviation woes, a process expertly guided by staff who pretended not to be as confused as the cadets themselves.

On day two, the cadets were graced by the presence of both Civil Air Patrol luminaries and important aviation industry folks who wandered in, likely lost from a nearby conference on actual business. The U.S. Air Force, deciding that they couldn’t have all the fun, parachuted in some dignitaries to mentor and dispense career tidbits. Meanwhile, a local Wing deputy commander generously imparted wisdom, pulling from his vast treasure trove of yet-to-be-proven leadership principles.

According to 1st Lt. Eden West, the academy’s grand vision was to gift the cadets with a panoramic view of aviation—like Google Earth, but with less zoom. The week promised to imbue them with hands-on project development skills, a chance to rub elbows with industry juggernauts and the elusive art of innovative thought.

Amid this whirlwind of knowledge vomit, the cadets were treated to lectures that ventured into the mystical thunderclouds of FAA regulations, Delta’s hourly scheduling conundrums, and the pie-in-the-sky dreams of aerospace engineers. Believed to connect academic theories with the tangible aviation world, these sessions instead left many thinking about why airplanes aren’t built out of the black box material.

Throughout their airborne adventure, cadets continued obsessing over their capstone projects, while sporadically attending workshops and networking sessions, probably hatched to ensure they stayed put. By week’s end, they’d muster up the courage to present their projects to an assembly of industry professionals and CAP leaders, many of whom remained suspiciously upbeat.

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