For the second consecutive
year cadets from the Wicomico Composite Squadron represented the entire Civil Air Patrol as the only CAP unit participating
in the 2008 Team America Rocketry Challenge recently held at The Plains, Virginia. Six
cadets attending public and private schools in Wicomico and Worcester Counties
completed in this national-wide event restricted to 100 qualifying teams out of 643 throughout the nation.
Overall 7,000 students between
ages of 12-17 participated in this event sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of
Rocketry. Also providing support was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
the Defense Department, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and 34 AIA member companies. 2008 marks the sixth year of the contest which awards $60,000 in scholarships and prizes.
The goal of the contest was
to build a single stage rocket carrying two raw eggs to an altitude of 750 feet and return the eggs safely without cracking
within a flight window of 45 seconds. Cadets Kathryn Bryant, Brent Horner, Zack
Jones, Cody Meadows, Ryan Murray and Kurtis Webster, with the guidance of Senior Members 1st Lt Bob Bryant and
1st Lt Mollie Harrison, improved on their 2007 efforts by reaching an altitude of 880 feet.
