Young Eagles ~ Flying High

 

Last weekend, on Saturday night, my twinlings were invited over to their best buddy’s house for a sleep-over. But if that wasn’t exciting enough for them, the next morning they were offered a surprise flight by their friend’s Dad, Roald who owns a beautiful Cessna 195, built in 1952.

 

Roald just happens to be a a participating member of the EAA Young Eagles Program, and volunteers his time to share the thrill of aviation and give a whole new perspective of the world, for young people. He has shared his passion for flying countless times with others over the years and even influenced some to become pilots themselves.

(Yes, that’s my twinling Jax wearing trout-printed, flannel pajama pants. He is a confidant boy that marches by the beat of a different drummer and is proud of it, too. I tease him that he may end up on People of Walmart one day. lol!)

 

I drove over to the airfield, only about 15 minutes from our house to meet them there, take photos and see the excitement in their eyes. The neighborhood that the airfield is located was created just for homeowners who own their own aircraft and want to be able to park them at home and fly at any time.

 

I found many of the house designs interesting and got a kick out of seeing the huge attached garages, not meant for cars, but for planes instead.

I wouldn’t mind having a house with a barn attached, though. How about you?

My favorite were the Southwestern Pueblo designed homes with aircraft garages.

And this house even has a heli-pad.

All of the roads in the neighborhood are taxiways, and aircraft have the right of way, of course.

After completing the EAA Young Eagles paperwork it was time to prepare to fly!

Waving goodbye!

Jax and Jem’s buddy, C. I know my boys enjoyed the flight so much more because they were able to fly with their friend, C, too.

 

Taxi-ing towards the road.

 

And taxi-ing down the roadway.

Preparing to taxi onto the runway.

Here’s a video of their actual take-off!

 

And they’re up flying high!

They flew above the mountains and plains for about 30 minutes, even flying over our house, which they really enjoyed. Roald also allowed them to experience the rare thrill of 0 Gravity by doing a ‘Roller Coaster’ maneuver. My boys loved that best of all, of course!

While they were flying, my friend Suzanne and I hung out with our daughters in the hangar. The girls did some ‘flying’ over their own.

This is Roald’s other plane. Suzanne used to pilot this plane years ago.

 

 

They did a fly-by before coming back around to land. Notice the plane on the runway? It had just landed as they flew overhead. I wish I could have captured the plane on the ground a little better. It would have made for a unique photo.

And they’re on the ground!

They taxied in on the neighborhood roads.

I like this photo because it looks like Jenna and her friend are tiny people standing on the tail of plane. lol!

And I took a video of the engine shutting down and my twinlings’ first impressions of their flight.

Happy Faces!

Jenna climbed up to see what it felt like to sit in a small plane. Roald is just so generous and patient with the kids.

The cockpit and control panel.

The boys were happy to help Roald push the Cessna back into the hangar.

Roald takes excellent care of his aircraft and it shows.

I think owning an airplane isn’t a whole lot different than owning a horse. They are both expensive hobbies, the owner takes pride in both their aircraft or their horse, they both consume large quantities (gas or hay), they require proper housing and maintenance, they can sometimes come up lame, and they take you where you want to go and can be a lot of fun to ride.

Suzanne brought a big carton of fresh blueberries for the kids to eat after their flight. After my flight I think I’d prefer some champagne, though. hehe!

 

Afterwards they were given their EAA Young Eagles Certificates and informational aviation brochures

They’ll also be receiving a newsletter in a few weeks and were registered as official Young Eagles. EAA also provides many opportunities for young people interested in pursuing a future in aviation with scholarships, internships, and an online academic course in aviation science. Check ‘em out!