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Scouting America · Merit Badge
Aviation
Mechanics of flight, aircraft operations, airport operations, and aviation careers — including hands-on model flight and a discovery flight.
Counselor Qualifications
I'm a strong match here: aerospace engineer, experienced with unmanned aircraft, flight test, and flight simulation. The strongest hook for Scouts is the FPG-9 build and a discovery flight.
Dustin Gamble — B.S. and M.S. Aerospace Engineering; Technical Fellow at Lockheed Martin; registered Scouting America Merit Badge Counselor (Los Padres Council).
My Counselor Plan
My operating notes for counseling this badge. Scouts can skim for context; other counselors are welcome to borrow what's useful.
- Open every session with a short 'what did you fly/see this week' check-in.
- Bring an FPG-9 template and spare foam plates to session 1 so Scouts can fly by the end of the meeting.
- Have a flight simulator (X-Plane or MSFS) on a laptop ready for req 3(a).
- Keep a list of local CAP squadrons and Exploring posts to hand to Scouts interested in careers.
- Coordinate discovery flights through a local CFI/pilot — get parental permission in writing first.
- Cross-badge tie-in: Scouts working the Space Exploration Telemetry Rocket project (T-Beam flight computer, LoRa to a Heltec ground station) can reuse the altitude/GPS data here to discuss four forces, control surfaces, and instrument readings with real flight data instead of textbook charts.
Requirements Checklist
25 total requirement items. Check marks are saved locally in this browser so you can track progress as you work. This is a convenience view — the official requirements on scouting.org are the source of truth.
1. Aviation Basics and Mechanics of Flight
Do the following:
3. Flight Operations
Do TWO of the following:
4. Airport Operations
Do ONE of the following:
5. Personal & Professional Aviation Opportunities
Do the following:
Additional Resources
Safety and Youth Protection
All merit badge counseling sessions follow Scouting America's Guide to Safe Scouting. Scouts meet with me either accompanied by a parent or guardian, or in a group with at least one other Scout and one other registered adult present. I hold current Safeguarding Youth training.