Wilmington, Ohio - November 10, 2008 — A class reunion is usually a time to catch up with old friends. But to EAA members Tom and Lynn Meadows it was also a good time to give Young Eagle rides.
The Meadows, members of EAA Chapter 1073, flew their Cessna 172 about 1,700 miles from Truckee, California to Wilmington, Ohio for Tom’s 45th high school reunion.
Tom said the idea of giving Young Eagle flights while he was home came about five years ago, when he and Lynn were in Ohio for his 40th class reunion. But this time they were more prepared, with Charlie White, EAA Chapter 1073’s Young Eagle coordinator, putting together some Young Eagle packets that they could take with them to give to the youngsters.
They contacted an elementary school — coincidentally, Tom’s niece was the principal — and put out flyers about the free flights, trying to target children whose father or mother were serving in the military. In fact, one of the Young Eagles had both her mother and father currently stationed in Afghanistan, Tom said.
“I didn’t know how many would show up, but I figured as long as the weather was good, we’d fly,” Tom said. Nine children showed up, and all nine loved it.
“I don’t think any had been in a small plane before,” Tom said. “We flew over their homes and Lake Cowan. When I was a kid I thought it was a really big lake, but it doesn’t look so big now.”
Lynn, a private pilot, handled registration and marshalling, while Tom, a certified flight instructor with about 7,500 hours, loaded and flew the children. As usual, Tom had one Young Eagle on each flight sit in the left seat and fly.
These weren’t the first Young Eagles flights the Meadows have given, however. Tom has 455 flights to his name.
Why are they such supporters of Young Eagles?
“It’s just a tremendous program for introducing kids to aviation and for helping communities to understand some of the benefits of their local airport,” Tom said. “Most of the parents had never been out to their county airport before, and educating them about that is just as important to introducing the kids to aviation.”
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