By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — When Cadet Sgt. Jacob Heinrich learned he’d been accepted to attend flight school in Manitoba this summer, he wanted to celebrate.

At the time, however, he was standing in parade formation with the other members of the 40 Snowbird Squadron, so the celebration had to wait.

“You still have to keep a straight face,” he recalled. “I was biting my lip pretty hard.”

Heinrich, a Grade 10 student at Davidson School, is one of two local cadets invited to attend the Cadet Flying Training Centre (CFTC) in Gimli, Man., this summer.

He and fellow cadet Emily Jones of Craik will spend a month and a half at the centre, training on the Schweizer SGS 2-33 glider.

Both Heinrich and Jones began their cadet careers with 553 Sherlock Squadron in Davidson.

After the local squadron became inactive due to declining enrolment, they and a couple of others transferred to 40 Snowbird Squadron in Moose Jaw.

Local cadets travel to the city one night a week for regular meetings, and more often when they have weekend activities.

Heinrich began the application process for the CFTC in September, attending ground school to learn the basics of aviation.

For the full story, please see the May 15 edition of The Davidson Leader or call 306-567-2047 to subscribe today.