By Tina Bridenstine, Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Some of CPN’s younger Tribal members were able to get a close-up look at ballooning at the FireLake Fireflight Balloon Festival this year.
Tinley, Cruz, Jet and Axel Winn, members of the Curley family, are all cadets in the Gordon Cooper Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol, a non-profit organization where youth can learn about flying, leadership, hiking and more.
According to the Civil Air Patrol website, the organization is the civilian auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force and the program for youth is designed to transform cadets into “dynamic citizens and aerospace leaders through a curriculum that focuses on four elements: leadership, aerospace, fitness and character.”
Tinley Winn said part of the program also involves orientation rides, where cadets can get first-hand experience flying in Cessna aircrafts.
The Winn siblings joined in February 2026 and are all ranked as cadet airmen.
At the balloon festival, the cadets and others in their squadron were also able to learn about hot air balloons — from the equipment they use, to how to inflate them, to how weather and temperature are used to control the balloons.
“It was cool getting to put it up,” Jet Winn said. “I’ve never been able to do that before. We got to go inside it.”
Balloon pilot Greg Sturge, who walked the cadets through all the steps during the morning sessions, is the commander of the Tulsa squadron for Civil Air Patrol, and he is hoping to get hot air balloons and gliders back into the programming mix for the organization.
Learn more about Civil Air Patrol at gocivilairpatrol.com
