Helping Imaginations Soar Pilots’ Program Introduces Youngsters To Joy Of Flying
Sharon Wold was a nervous wreck Saturday morning. And nothing could calm her down.
Mitchell Wold, her 9-year-old son, prepared to go for a ride in a single-engine plane at Felts Field.
Mitchell was excited, but Sharon, in her own words, “was a basket case.”
“I hate flying,” Wold said, with a thick British accent. “I like my two feet on the ground. But I couldn’t say no to him. I basically would be putting my fears in him if I did.”
Mitchell was one of 35 kids at the airfield for Young Eagles Day. The program is sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association. The international organization was founded in 1953.
Saturday was the first rally of the year for the group. The goal of the program is to get boys and girls ages 8 to 17 interested in aviation.
“I’m not afraid up there like my mom,” said Mitchell, wearing a San Francisco 49ers jacket that was too large.
“It was cool up there. I liked looking out over the river.”
Wold and two other boys flew with pilot Bob Harding in his own plane. Harding, who flew to Spokane Saturday morning from Reardan, Wash., is the coordinator of the Young Eagles.
He and four other pilots provided the youngsters with a 15-minute flight using their own planes and paying for their own gas.
“We love to fly, and we love kids,” Harding said. “If you want to get your kids away from the television and computer games, this is a great place to bring them on a Saturday.”
One of Harding’s passengers was 9-year-old Brad Ell. His flight marked the first time he had ever been off the ground.
Ell echoed the feelings of his buddy Wold.
“I wasn’t afraid up there,” Ell said. “I want to do it again.”
One ride had to suffice on Saturday. Bad weather brought all flights to a halt by midmorning. Ten kids missed out on a chance to fly.
But that still didn’t keep 12-year-old Michael Johnson from admiring John Harns’ custom-built craft.
Harns, who flew in from Post Falls, has a sleek 6-cylinder single-engine plane that can reach speeds between 180 and 200 mph.
“I’m going to get up there eventually in that one,” said a dejected Johnson, after learning that the rain was going to cut into flying time.
The students received more than a sightseeing tour of soggy Spokane when they were in the air. The pilots told them what it takes to do the job.
“We tell them that they have to be drug free,” Harding said. “And they can’t abuse alcohol if this is something that they want to do. It will be hard to get a pilot’s license if there’s a DWI on your driver’s license.”
Gary Yeager, the president of the EAA chapter in Spokane, said flying as a hobby is slowly dying among younger generations of Americans.
“There are so many other things available to kids for entertainment today,” Yeager said. “And flying is not a cheap hobby.”
That’s why the pilots fly the kids for free.
“We get together once a month for our own meetings at the Spokane library, and when I look around, all I see are nothing but a bunch of gray-haired men,” Yeager said. “We’ve got to reach out to younger and more diverse groups of people.”
The Young Eagles program usually runs from March to October. Crummy weather pushed the program back a month this year.
The pilots are scheduled to fly to Chewelah, Wash., on May 10 to fly more kids before moving farther north to Ione, Wash., the following Saturday.
The EAA flew more than 300 kids last year. Pilots are shooting for 400 kids this year.
In addition to the Young Eagles, EAA members have flown kids from the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program of Spokane and other youth groups in the Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls areas.
They plan to be back out at Felts Field on June 14 for International Young Eagles Day.
Mitchell Wold said he can’t wait for that day.
“Maybe I can get my mom to come up,” Wold said.
To which his mother replied: “Think again, hun.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos (1 Color)
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: YOUNG EAGLES For more information about the Young Eagles program or the Experimental Aircraft Association, call Bob Harding at 796-5280.