Flying high for young people
Young Eagles day at airport drew a crowd
Matthew Kittle prepares for his first flight during Young Eagles Day at Wadsworth Municipal Airport. Photos by EMILY CANNING-DEAN
WADSWORTH – Kids of all ages took to the sky June 10 during Young Eagles day at Wadsworth Municipal Airport.
The event was sponsored by Chapter 846 of the Experimental Aircraft Association and area pilots donated their time and planes to give rides to kids ages 8 to 17.
Gary Baker, president of Chapter 846, said he was pleased with the turnout.
“With this kind of thing you never know how it will turn out. You just put advertisement out there and hope it goes well,” he said. “We have had 93 kids come in so far and we have two hours left, so I’m sure we will get to 100 kids today. It seems like everyone is enjoying themselves. We have 11 airplanes out here today flying.”
Participating children experience a brief “ground school” before going into the air and also complete a walk around on one of two airplanes before their flight. Pilots also let some of the kids take the controls for a few minutes while in the air.
Wadsworth resident Matthew Kittle was excited as he waited for his opportunity to fly.
“I’m really excited because I’ve never been in a plane before and I wanted to try it out,” he said. “I also want to become a pilot.”
Kittle’s mom, Donna said she was happy to see her son have this opportunity.
“I know he’s so excited, it’s neat to get to see him have this chance,” she said.
Armaio Mays and his family traveled to the airport from Northfield so he could have a chance to fly. After getting back to the ground, he said he was glad to have the experience.
“This was my first time flying and it was really cool,” he said. “It made my stomach a little tickly when I first took off. I guess I was a little nervous at first, but it was fun. I got to take the controls and kept going down, then when I went up, I went really high.”
The international Young Eagles program started back in 1992 when members of the EAA noticed that old aviators were dying off and there was a need for more. The goal was to fly 1 million kids by Dec. 13, 2003, which was the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight. The goal was met by November of that year and just last year, 2 million kids have flown under this program.
The event was sponsored by Chapter 846 of the Experimental Aircraft Association and area pilots donated their time and planes to give rides to kids ages 8 to 17.
Gary Baker, president of Chapter 846, said he was pleased with the turnout.
“With this kind of thing you never know how it will turn out. You just put advertisement out there and hope it goes well,” he said. “We have had 93 kids come in so far and we have two hours left, so I’m sure we will get to 100 kids today. It seems like everyone is enjoying themselves. We have 11 airplanes out here today flying.”
Participating children experience a brief “ground school” before going into the air and also complete a walk around on one of two airplanes before their flight. Pilots also let some of the kids take the controls for a few minutes while in the air.
Wadsworth resident Matthew Kittle was excited as he waited for his opportunity to fly.
“I’m really excited because I’ve never been in a plane before and I wanted to try it out,” he said. “I also want to become a pilot.”
Kittle’s mom, Donna said she was happy to see her son have this opportunity.
“I know he’s so excited, it’s neat to get to see him have this chance,” she said.
Armaio Mays and his family traveled to the airport from Northfield so he could have a chance to fly. After getting back to the ground, he said he was glad to have the experience.
“This was my first time flying and it was really cool,” he said. “It made my stomach a little tickly when I first took off. I guess I was a little nervous at first, but it was fun. I got to take the controls and kept going down, then when I went up, I went really high.”
The international Young Eagles program started back in 1992 when members of the EAA noticed that old aviators were dying off and there was a need for more. The goal was to fly 1 million kids by Dec. 13, 2003, which was the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight. The goal was met by November of that year and just last year, 2 million kids have flown under this program.