September 22, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Saturday was a great day for flying and dozens of youth had a chance to do just that during a Young Eagles Flight Rally held at the Smithville Municipal Airport.
The event, hosted by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 1378 allowed youth ages 8-17 to have a free airplane ride. There were also Gyrocopter and a Para-glider demonstrations
The mission of the rally was to introduce and inspire kids in the world of aviation. For the past 25 years, over two million young people nationally have participated in the Young Eagles Program. The pilots who participated in the program Saturday, each certified with the Federal Aviation Administration, volunteered their time and aircraft to take the kids for a hands on flight locally.
Prior to the flights, pilots explained to the participants how the airplanes work and described the parts of the plane and instruments inside. They also reviewed all safety instructions prior to every flight.
Gyrocopter flight demonstration from dwayne page on Vimeo.
Each flight lasted 15 to 20 minutes and followed the basic steps in the flight pattern.
Smithville Airport Manager Mike Carpenter from dwayne page on Vimeo.
“We were very happy to host this event and really enjoyed seeing all the young people. Each one got a chance to fly. We asked them if they wanted to fly a plane and we gave them instructions on how to actually take the plane off. It was pretty exciting to see the faces of those young people as they got to lift the plane right off the ground,” said Mike Carpenter, Smithville Airport Manager and President of EAA Chapter 1378.
Oakley and Kinley Fisher from dwayne page on Vimeo.
Two of the Young Eagles, 10 year old Oakley and 8 year old Kinley Fisher, told WJLE they really had a great time and would like to fly again.
“We took off and went around for a while and came back. It was lots of fun. This was the second time we had flown. The first time we flew to Florida,” said Oakley.
Oakley and Kinley and their parents Ivan and Holly Fisher live in Short Mountain community of Cannon County.
Following the flight, each participant received a certificate making them an official Young Eagle. In addition to the certificate the new Young Eagle is given a logbook with an access code for a complete free online Flight Training course offered by Sporty’s. Their name will then be entered into the “World’s Largest Logbook,” which is on permanent display at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.