Wild blue yonder
Children experience the wonder of flight
Joesiah Talamante turns to watch another plane take off while taking a tour of Cessna before taking a ride in the plane during the Rocky View Fly In at the Gallup Airport Saturday. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Cable Hoover

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Leslie Wood
For the Independent

GALLUP — Volunteer pilots from the Experimental Aviation Association made childhood dreams come true Saturday afternoon.

More than 100 children eagerly awaited their turn to ride in single-engine airplanes with pilots from the EAA as part of the Young Eagles program. Each was treated to a free tour of an aircraft and a subsequent flight through the Gallup sky.

The EAA’s Young Eagles program was started in 1992 and has provided more than 1.4 million free flights to encourage school-aged children to explore the world of aviation, according to literature published by the organization. The international aviation association has 170,000 members and 1,000 local chapters, including one in Albuquerque.

Attendance at the Gallup Municipal Airport surpassed last year’s numbers. By 9:50 a.m., 106 children had registered for the “once in a life time” experience.

The wait was long for some, but definitely worth it for most.
“I’m trying to be patient,” Home-schooled Wesley Hacker, 9, said. “ ... I’m excited.”

Hacker was the 29th person in line for the event. He was also prepared to look for specific landmarks during his flight.

“I was hoping I could see my house,” he said.

Ten-year-old Trinity Briley, a fourth-grader from Thoreau Elementary School, was so excited about the free flights he could recite the itinerary of the day’s events.

“I’ve been bugging my mom about coming,” he said as he did a flip from the metal railing that lines the runway.

Pam Briley, Trinity’s mother, was impressed with event’s organization and was thankful for such an opportunity for her child.

“I think it’s really nice for the community to do this,” Pam Briley said. “It’s really neat for children to see how planes fly.”

Each participant was also given a first pilot’s log book and a coupon for a free online flight training course.

Kindergarten teacher Scott Weaver, one of the event’s organizers, said the fun day also has a more practical application. He said New Mexico children should learn about the aerospace industry in light of the state’s status as a leader in the field and the construction of the commercial space port in Sierra County.

“The best jobs will eventually be in the aerospace industry,” Weaver said. “ ... Our thought is we need to expose them to the concepts of flight.”

Anne Long, another of the event’s organizers and a teacher at Rocky View Elementary School, said she grew up around airplanes because her father is a pilot. She hoped to educate local children about general aviation through Saturday’s Fly-in.

“I’m very close to this kind of stuff,” she said. “I am very, very pleased with the turnout.”

The event came to an abrupt end Saturday when a Corrales pilot and a 14-year-old passenger were treated for minor injuries at local hospitals after the single engine plane they were riding in crashed in a field between Interstate Highway 40 and Allison Road.

When news of the accident surfaced, the Young Eagles event was canceled.

Information about EAA: www.eaa.org.