Cadets of Civil Air Patrol’s Newnan Coweta Cadet squadron recently spent the day on a special tour of Delta’s museum and facilities. William Ortiz, a dispatcher at Delta and a former cadet, guided the cadets on the tour as they explored many different parts of the Delta campus.

The cadets began the tour with walk through an old hanger that had been converted into the Delta museum. Among some of the exhibits on display was some of Delta’s early aircraft such as the fabled DC-3. There was also the very first passenger ticket that Delta issued, the original buyer purchased the ticket for just over $13. During the tour of the museum, the cadets boarded the 767 known as “The Spirit of Delta”. Ortiz explained to the cadets that the $30 million dollar airplane was bought by the company’s employees as a gift in 1982 as a way of thanking Delta for the many years that it had supported them.

The tour did not end at the museum. Ortiz lead the cadets behind the scenes to a building across the street and into a large room with many computers, people, and television screens. “This is the Operations Control Center,” Ortiz told the cadets.

“This is where the dispatchers, meteorologists, and others watch and control every single Delta flight in the air or on the ground. This room is occupied 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”

After the control center, the cadets next went downstairs to take a peek inside the cockpit of simulators that the pilots use to train in. Down the stairs once more and around the corner, the cadets found themselves in the same facilities where Delta trains its flight attendants. In one of the rooms there was a large in ground pool and a mock-up of a airplane cabin. “This is where the flight attendants train for emergencies” Ortiz told the cadets. After wrapping up the tour the cadets all went out to eat and talked about the amazing trip.

The Civil Air Patrol is the non-profit volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The Newnan Coweta Cadet Squadron is looking to invite more students and adults alike to join this great program. If you are interested, please call Cadet Lt. Col Steven Mellard at 770-251-7210 or send an email to Mell4Cap@bellsouth.net.

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