Several young prospective pilots received their first introduction to flying at the latest Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles first flight event Saturday at Leesburg International Airport.
The rally was held by local EAA Chapter 534 at its hangar at the airport. The flights are designed to give young people their first experience in the air in a small single-engine aircraft. Seven planes were available for Young Eagles flights at this month’s event.
The chapter’s Young Eagle Chief Pilot, Joel Hargis, gave the pilots an orientation on weather, what air traffic to expect, and special Young Eagle call signs he has worked out with the tower so they can easily be distinguished from other traffic calling in.
Hargis gives the pilots some latitude as to where and for how long they should fly, and the flights are generally 15 to 20 minutes. If the child lives close to the airport, pilots will try to give them the chance to see their neighborhood from the air.
After the pilot briefing, Hargis gave an orientation about the Young Eagles program to the young people and their parents. Here he pointed out that the first consideration is safety. He stressed the danger of spinning propellers and to follow the instructions of the chapter guides when on the ramp. Hargis said on runup, if anything looks questionable about the plane, it will return to the ramp and the young person will be assigned to another aircraft.
Each Young Eagle wore a seat belt and a headset so that they could talk to the pilot. During the takeoff and landing, they were asked to maintain a “sterile cockpit,” which means no talking while the pilot concentrates on takeoff and landing and is talking to the tower.
All the aircraft that fly on rally day have been pre-flighted by their pilot owners beforehand. However, all the kids were taken to one airplane on the ramp and shown how to properly do a complete pre-flight inspection of that aircraft, including the effect of the control surfaces during flight. After the inspection, the young people returned to the hangar and were assigned to a pilot and plane.
Upon completion of their flight, each youngster receives a Young Eagle logbook filled out by their pilot recording the flight information along with an official Young Eagles Certificate commemorating the flight. At this point, they may elect to become official EAA Student Members. As student members, they qualify for a free online Sporty’s Learn to Fly Course, free admission to 300-plus science and technology museums, a free electronic copy of EAA Sport Aviation magazine, and a free-flying lesson valued at $120 upon completion of the course.
The EAA Young Eagles program is available free to youths ages 8 to 17. EAA chapter members and pilots volunteer their time, planes and the cost of aviation fuel to make these first flight adventures a success. At no time is anybody charged for anything. The organization’s motivation for doing this is to acquaint young people with the joy of flying and hope that sometime in the future they might choose to become a private pilot or consider an aviation career.
Nationally, EAA has flown almost 2.3 million of these flights. They are offered at local airports where there are affiliated EAA chapters. Chapter 534 runs Young Eagle Rallies once a month at the Leesburg International Airport. Other chapters may have a different schedule.
To learn more about the Young Eagles program, visit www.YoungEagles.org/join. For further information about the Experimental Aircraft Association, visit www.eaa.org or www.eaachapter534.org.
