Young Eagles soar

By Greg Grant
For The Highland County Press

“Birds have all the fun” was the sentiment of one young girl who just returned to earth after taking her first airplane flight on Saturday, April 26 at the Highland County Airport. She said “the earth looked like a patchwork quilt from up in the air.”

The Highland County Pilots Association, in conjunction with the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) hosted the Young Eagles program on Saturday at the Highland County Airport. This program, developed by the EAA, is designed to get youths interested in aviation by putting them into the cockpit with a pilot and letting them experience an actual flight.

Since the program’s inception, the EAA has sponsored over 1.8 million youth flights.

On Saturday, 49 youths between the ages of 8 and 17, were able to take a flight courtesy of eight pilots who are members of the EAA. The pilots donate their planes, time, and fuel to share in the opportunity to let the kids see the world from a different vantage point.

For many of the kids, this was the first time they had been in an airplane. Watching both the pilots and the children, it is hard to tell which ones enjoyed the day more. Several of the pilots commented that it is so rewarding to be a part of these kids’ first flights and to see the excitement on their faces.

Eric Carnahan, a Young Eagles flight coordinator, said that younger kids have no fear, but the older ones seem a bit more timid before their first flight. As they climbed from the plane, it was quite obvious by the smiles on their faces that most of these passengers were thrilled with their flights.

Kevin and Christian Raisch were two of the first youths to fly Saturday morning with pilot Bob Jones. When asked about their flight they said they were so thankful for the chance to do this, and they got to see a friend’s house from the air. Kevin said he was able to fly the plane for a few seconds.

Hope Middleton, flying with Darrell Wilson, said “It was fun. The lake was huge, I didn’t know it was that big, and I would love to do it again.”

“I loved it, all the lakes are so pretty," Alexandra Magee said.

Amber Lawhorn, upon returning, spent some time talking of a career in flying. She was encouraged by her pilot to make sure that along with making aviation a part of her educational program, she should also include other options along with it, in case something happens where she could no longer meet the rigid health restrictions, she would have other talents and education to turn to as well.

Anastasia Newberry was one of the more timid ones before her flight with pilot Monte Shaw, but upon her return, she was all smiles and is ready to go again. Meanwhile, her little brother, Isaac, who is only 5, and too young to go, stood at the fence a bit disappointed at watching his older sister.

The EAA is the sponsoring body and provides the insurance coverage for the event. Each child gets to meet their pilot, receives a pre-flight overview of the plane and what to expect, and then gets to take a short flight.

Upon their return to the airport, they receive a certificate of their flight, and their very own Young Eagles logbook, including an entry of the flight, signed by the pilot. The logbook includes a code to activate a free EAA student membership which gives them access to a Learn to Fly course ($199 value) admission to over 300+ science and technology museums, and a free first flight lesson and many more things.

Ralph Widman, one of the pilots and president of the Highland County Pilots Association, along with his wife, Jan, who is the secretary, said that they were thankful to all of the members and others who worked hard to make this event such a success.

These members and other volunteers are a big help, as there is someone at the airport every day, including Darrell Larkin who at age 93 is still an active participant at the airport. On this day, he was operating the airport's radios. Darrell was a World War II fighter pilot who followed in the footsteps of his father who was in World War I. They are all ambassadors for the Highland County airport and aviation in general, and welcome visitors to the airport.

For more information on the Young Eagles program visit www.youngeagles.org/join and the Experimental aircraft Association at www.eaa.org.