Fly high with Young Eagles

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Fly high with Young Eagles

Around Osceola

Thursday, 13 May 2010 00:00

By Brian McBride
Associate Editor
Youngsters bitten with the aviation bug can soar into the skies for free Saturday at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport during the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles Flight Rally.
Airport officials said the Orlando-Gateway Sport Pilot Flight Training Center, a business on the grounds, will host the rally through the Kissimmee association chapter, which will feature free flights for aviation enthusiasts 8- to 17-years-old, a pancake breakfast, flight simulators, a static display of T-6 Texan Warbirds and more.
“Our goal is to provide young people with an educational opportunity to explore the field of aviation,” Stephen Gatlin, president of the Kissimmee association chapter, said. “This rally will allow a new generation of aviation enthusiasts to experience interactive aircraft displays, speak with pilots and learn what it’s like to fly.”
Registration is from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the training center, 3956 Merlin Drive, Hangar 4, Kissimmee. The event is open to the public.
Participants who experience a flight will receive certificates verifying their official status as an EAA Young Eagle and their names will be entered into the “World’s Largest Logbook,” displayed at the EAA Air Adventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wis.
So what’s the flight like? According to a description on the Experimental Aircraft Association website, the pilot will explain what will happen during the flight. This might include talking about the airplane; reviewing an aeronautical chart (or map); identifying reference points during the flight; completing a careful “walk around” preflight inspection of the airplane and identifying the parts that control the airplane.
Once in the air, flights last between 15 and 20 minutes. After landing, there will be time to ask questions about the flight. Ask away! Your pilot will be happy to tell you more about flying and the particular airplane you were aboard.
The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give interested young people an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane.
Since 1992, more than 1.5 million Young Eagles have taken flights through the program. The Young Eagles program is spread across more than 90 different countries and have been flown by more than 42,000 volunteer pilots.
EAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association, is an international aviation membership association founded in 1953 and headquartered in Oshkosh, Wis. Members embrace all types of airplanes, including “experimental” aircraft, those aircraft built by individual craftsmen, rather than in a factory.
For more information about the Kissimmee airport event, call Orlando-Gateway Sport Pilot Flight Training Center at 407-414-8359.
For more information about the Young Eagles Flight Rally and the EAA Young Eagles program, visit www.eaa.org or www.youngeagles.com.