"Hayward Tower. Cessna one seven two charlie alpha. Approaching final from the Southeast. Request runway two eight left."

On approach to Hayward Airport, I feel the left crosswind pushing our Cessna, getting us further and further away from the center of the 5694 foot runway. Trying to realign our 172, I turn the yoke slightly to left; it works - sort of. I am getting closer and closer: "three hundred feet...two hundred feet... Flaps thirty...Engines idle." The next one hundred feet are a blur, as I focus on when to pitch up my our nose. -plack plack- We touch down, excited that our landing was a success but sad that the final leg of our three-legged trip around the East Bay was over.

As I say bye to Aerocamp, I experience the same bittersweet feelings that I had after landing. Sad that my aviation-intensive experience is over, I remember what my wise teacher once said: "Smile because it happened." That's exactly what I'm going to do: I smile because I met the most enthusiastic, jovial, and keen aviators such as Keith, an adventurous counselor who introduced us to the complexities of flight and his Piper Warrior (it's a beautiful twin engine) and Will, a pun-loving guy who is in the pursuit for his private pilot's license; I smile because I was able to learn the phonetic alphabet, flight controls, and aerodynamic principles; I smile because AeroCamp happened.

I also smile because my Wishbone community supported me, allowing me to pursue my passion for aircraft.

Thank you again for investing your time, resources, and efforts in me and my passion. This amazing, eye-opening experience would not have been possible without you.

-Andy

I have not always been fond of August, as it is the month when summer break fades away and the back-to-school commercials start to air. However, this August will more bearable - more hopeful - because I can look forward to attending California Aerocamp. Specifically, I will attend a one-week course at Hayward Airport to learn the fundamentals of aviation - pre-flight rituals, aeronautical charts, instruments, and flight traffic patterns (to name a few). Along with the knowledge about aviation comes the opportunity to explore future careers in the world of flight and the experiencing of being with others who share the same passion.

As you may have guessed, I love airplanes - especially their history and capability of flying. My love started when I was a child riding on an Air China 747. I remember always gazing at the humongous GE-CF6s that hung from the massive wings and the distinct trapezoid-shaped winglet that 747-400 models are known for. I remember spending an endless amount of hours watching National Geographic's Air Crash Investigation (you should really check it out!) and crunching the historical facts about warplanes in my history textbooks (hands down, the P-51D is boss). Apart from the aesthetics and history, I really admire airplanes for their ability to be in the sky because it is literally a heavy hunk of metal that soars 30,000 ft. in the sky!

The reason why I chose to attend this program is that I love airplanes. I would not be able to explore the aviation field without your support, and I thank you for everything - for making August more bearable and for helping me explore my passion.