www.courierjournal.com            Sunday, June 10, 2001

Louisville Courier-Journal » Local/Regional » News Item

Young Eagles introduced to aviation

Volunteers take youth to skies

25 pilots give 700 youngsters free flights

By SHANNON TANGONAN, The Courier Journal

Nine year old Laura Balderson said she felt as though her tummy jumped toward her throat and fell back down again during a flight over Bowman Field yesterday.

"I've never gone up in a plane before," said Laura, of Louisville, who shared the experience with her twin brother, Erik.

The Baldersons were among nearly 700 youngsters who took to the clear skies in small planes as part of the Louisville’s second Young Eagles Flight Rally, an annual event that gave them a chance to learn first hand about aviation.

About 25 pilots volunteered to take passengers age 8 through 17 aloft in small aircraft. The planes flew around Bowman Field, with each flight lasting less than 15 minutes.

"This is a wonderful experience for them one that we could not otherwise provide," said Donna Balderson, the twins' mother.

Howard Edwards, 77, an organizer of the event, said that when youngsters touch down after their first flight "you can see their eyes light up."

The free event was sponsored by the local chapter 110 of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Cardinal Wings Inc. and the Aero Club of Louisville.

The goal of Young Eagles, a program of the Experimental Aircraft Association, is to fly 1 million young people before 2003 the 100th anniversary of the first powered flight, Edwards said. So far, the organization has flown about 700,000 youngsters.

Edwards said he hoped that some of the children who took part in the rally yesterday become interested in aviation and eventually enter the industry as pilots, flight attendants, air traffic controllers or mechanics.

"The more things you're exposed to, occasionally you'll latch on to something," he said.

After his 15 minute flight, Christopher Ward, 9, said piloting is in his future. "I learned it's fun to be a pilot and I want to be one when I grow up," he said.

His brother, Justin Taylor, 8, also was impressed. "I want to be a pilot when I grow up, too," he said. The two had been on commercial jets before, but never in a small plane.

Middle schoolers Christoph Runyon, 13, B.J. Crase, 12, and Thomas Deitsch, 11 all of Southern Indiana took their first airplane ride in a Piper Cherokee.

B.J. said that the small plane was a little scary and that he wasn't expecting the bounce on the landing.

"My heart was pounding," he said.

"We saw the highway, the other airport you got to see everything below you," Thomas said. Christoph and Thomas said they felt as if they were floating.

IT WAS hard to tell who was having more fun the children or the pilots. Dave Derrick, who has been a pilot for 10 years, crawled under the wing of a single engine Piper Archer to show Jacob Hatfield, 9, and Zack and Mark Holzknecht, 11 and 12 respectively, what goes into a preflight inspection.

"It's always fun. They get excited about it," said Derrick, who also is a leader for a Boy Scouts aviation Explorer post. He enthusiastically answers the questions the children have about flying, such as "How does the plane work?" and "How fast is the plane going?"

Zack said he hadn't been up in a small plane. "I just hope it's fun and we don't crash," he said.  After landing safely, Zack said the ride was "thumpy" at times, but overall it was "pretty good."