{"id":409477,"date":"2026-07-23T14:42:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T14:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/409477\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T14:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T14:42:07","slug":"fullerton-municipal-airport-camp-grounds-youth-in-aviation-basics-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/409477\/","title":{"rendered":"Fullerton Municipal Airport camp grounds youth in aviation basics \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Editor\u2019s Note: This story is part of a summertime series featuring youth camps in Orange County.<\/p>\n<p>Tucked away in a corner of Orange County\u2019s smallest airport is one of OC\u2019s smallest summer camps.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Sutfin founded the aviation-themed camp in 2008 at Long Beach Airport and added the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2026\/07\/08\/fullertons-historic-airport-gets-a-digital-upgrade\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fullerton Municipal Airport<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n<p>An aviation Instructor at Cypress College, Sutfin said the camp is loosely based on private pilot skills and knowledge, which he refers to as \u201chard fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Counselor Baominh Dang shows campers how to preflight an Cessna...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-02.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Counselor Baominh Dang shows campers how to preflight an Cessna 172 during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Campers fly a flight simulator during Aviation Summer Camp at...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-03.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Campers fly a flight simulator during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Counselor Baominh Dang shows campers how to preflight an Cessna...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-01.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Counselor Baominh Dang shows campers how to preflight an Cessna 172 during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Counselor Baominh Dang shows campers how to preflight an Cessna...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-10.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Counselor Baominh Dang shows campers how to preflight an Cessna 172 during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Seyoung Na is surrounded by fellow campers as he flies...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-04.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Seyoung Na is surrounded by fellow campers as he flies a flight simulator during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Counselor Baominh Dang leads campers to a Cessna 172 during...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-09.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Counselor Baominh Dang leads campers to a Cessna 172 during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Camper Mark Du flies a flight simulator during Aviation Summer...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-06.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Camper Mark Du flies a flight simulator during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Counselor Baominh Dang moves the yoke and camper Derek Chung...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-05-1.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Counselor Baominh Dang moves the yoke and camper Derek Chung watches the flight surfaces move in a Cessna 172 during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Camper Blake Preston flies a flight simulator during Aviation Summer...\" class=\"lazyload size-article_inline\" data- src=\"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/OCR-L-CAMP-AVAITION-JG-07.jpg?w=620\"  bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Camper Blake Preston flies a flight simulator during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p>Show Caption<\/p>\n<p>1 of 9<\/p>\n<p>Counselor Baominh Dang shows campers how to preflight an Cessna 172 during Aviation Summer Camp at Fullerton Airport in Fullerton on Thursday, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\" class=\"icon-enlarge mng-gallery-fullscreen-expand\" aria-label=\"Expand fullscreen slideshow\">Expand<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe kids are having fun, but they\u2019re also learning about topics like charts, airplane types and calculations like weight balance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Sutfin, who also previously taught at the high school level, said he started the aviation camp after seeing a lot of cutbacks in shop classes during the Great Recession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did some soul searching and reflecting on value-added things for the community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The campers, between 10 and 15 years old, spend time on a flight simulator and a combat simulator where they\u2019re either working together on a mission or head-to-head against each other.<\/p>\n<p>They also visit the airport\u2019s control tower and meet with controllers while they are working the airspace.<\/p>\n<p>The young aviators also get some hands-on experience learning how pilots conduct a preflight on an airplane.<\/p>\n<p>There are eight, one-week sessions at the Fullerton and Long Beach airports and Flabob Airport in Riverside.<\/p>\n<p>While the camp doesn\u2019t include flight time, campers can purchase a one-hour flight for a reduced price.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s Note: This story is part of a summertime series featuring youth camps in Orange County. Tucked away&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164,7,179,2628,23,611,104924],"class_list":["post-409477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-community","tag-fullerton","tag-local-news","tag-orange-county","tag-summer-camp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}