Into the clouds Aircraft group takes children on free short flights
DeLAND -- For months, 16-year-old Willie Brown had refused to go with his friends at the Sanford community center to ride planes at the airport. He had been scared of heights since he was small and wouldn't even ride roller coasters because of it, he said. But he had heard about the Young Eagles Flight Rallies from his younger cousin, Julius, who has flown five times in the past several months. On Saturday, Willie and about a dozen other children from around Volusia and Seminole counties faced their fears. They strapped on seat belts, snapped on headphones and rose high into the clear, blue sky in single-engine airplanes, some for the first time. On the third Saturday of almost every month, members of the Experimental Aircraft Association's Chapter 635 donate their time and aircraft to show kids ages 8 through 17 what it feels like to fly. The national organization has free events like these throughout the country all year long. Willie said he came off a two-seat, white-and-blue Symphony 160 a changed person. He loved it. He was ready to go sky diving, he said. He especially enjoyed steering the plane briefly. "At first I was looking at that man, 'Are you serious?' " said Willie, who will start his sophomore year at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs later this month. "But I started getting used to it, and it's something I could do someday." Organizers said children should receive such opportunities because they may get a taste of flying and decide to pursue careers in aeronautics fields, such as engineering and maintenance. Families should become aware of the small airports that dot the Florida landscape, said Mike Bakula, a pilot from DeLand who helps coordinate the Young Eagles rallies. Many people underestimate their role in local commerce, he said. Nationally, fewer people are becoming pilots -- there were about 87,000 student pilots in 2005 compared to 150,000 in 1984, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in Maryland -- and small airports across the country are being swallowed up by housing developments and business projects. Without the rallies, which have been at the DeLand Municipal Airport for longer than a decade, it would be tough for kids to gain access to small planes in a post-Sept. 11 era. In October, the aircraft association plans to start an aviation club for area youths. "When I was little, my dad used to take me to the airport to see the airplanes. But the thing is, that was before the fences went up and the gates came in," Bakula said. "A program like this gives kids an opportunity to see if this is something they love." It also gives them a chance to explore a subject they already like. Rallies generally start about 8:30 a.m. and are over by 11 a.m. Barry Nadler, a software trainer from Deltona, brought his daughter, Becca, to see the planes because she's interested in science. On Saturday, the third-grader took her first ride in a single-engine plane, which, to her delight, flew over her house and a grocery store she visits often. "She already said she wants to come back next month and bring her little brother," Nadler said. Gregory S. Williams [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
