Kids of all ages love airplane rides, especially when they get to be in the front seat of a small plane and get to take the controls and do some of the piloting. Have you ever heard the buzz of an airplane overhead, stopped what you were doing, and stared up at the plane? Perhaps pointed it out to your son or niece or neighbor kid and reminisced about that time when…?
One way to get a free airplane ride is to show up at a Young Eagles event at your local airport. Yesterday, over 60 kids got rides at St. Charles Smartt Airport, courtesy of EAA Chapter 32 and several volunteer pilots (your’s truly included). Price of admission: zero. Requirements: be between the ages of 8 and 17. Guaranteed result: huge grins all around.
Do you want to arrange a Young Eagles flight? Call your local Young Eagles coordinator. Since the program started in 1992, over 1.5 million kids have gotten airborne. These days, in addition to the flight, each kid gets his own logbook in which to record the flight (and future ones), a certificate for free internet ground school training, and access to www.YoungEagles.com which is full of tons of cool stuff.
You can also simply drive out to your local airport, wander around, and talk to people. Here in St. Charles, MO (where I live), we have three visitor-friendly airports: St. Charles Municipal Airport, St. Charles Smartt Airport, and Creve Coeur Airport. Wander by any on a nice day and you are guaranteed to find pilots who are more than willing to talk and answer questions. You can probably even cadge a ride, just by asking.
