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Young Eagles and DARE join forces
Winchester, Va. – June 28, 2006 – On International Young Eagles day, June 10, 2006, Chapter 186 did what we have done for the past two years – paired with the Frederick County, Va. DARE Program and flew the fifth graders who participated in the DARE Program during the school year. Officer Jerry Clark contacted me and stated that this year, we could potentially have 315 youngsters. Quite a challenge, but I managed to get 13 aircraft lined up and as many ground crew.
However, when June 10 arrived, the sky was blue but the winds were not calm. Several of the pilots from airports other than Winchester called to state that they would not be coming because of the wind condition, which is understandable—we want everyone to be safe. I ended up with eight pilots and 12 people for ground crew.
We started right at 9 a.m. because the winds were at 12 knots, but directly down the runway. The flights continued until 4 p.m. when the event was called to a halt due to the wind—gusts actually. The day still yielded 176 Young Eagles flown. Those youngsters who didn’t get flown are being rescheduled.
Thanks goes to the pilots, Rick Conti, Joe Federico, Jim Greer, Rich Largent, Jack McCombs, Andy Ozols, Rick Rahim, George Smith and Mike Stock. We had six fixed-winged aircraft and two helicopters. The ground crew kept the event flowing smoothly. My thanks goes to Ann Ainsworth, Ray Comley, Carol Greer, Marty Heller, Jim Hill, Ray Hoover, Kim Lewis and her friend Angel, Kip Livingston, Don Maziarz, Ann McCombs and Jonathan Sands for completing the certificates, assisting the helicopters and serving as runners to the planes as these came in with youngsters on board. Don Maziarz served as air boss during the day and did an excellent job. The pilots and the crew helped to make a wonderful experience happen for many youngsters.
Many milestones were realized at this event:
Rick Conti, a new Young Eagles pilot, reached the 10-Young Eagles flown mark for 2006.
• Other pilots reaching the 10-Young Eagles flown mark for 2006:
o Jim Greer
o Andy Ozols
o Rick Rahim
o George Smith
o Mike Stock
• George Smith crossed 1,100 Young Eagles flown.
• Andy Ozols crossed 600 Young Eagles flown.
• Rick Rahim crossed 100 Young Eagles flown.
There was one transient aircraft at the airport. We found that the owners use Winchester as the mid-way point for travel between their two homes because the airport is usually very quiet. However this day they said they were having so much fun watching the youngsters that they didn’t want to leave. So it appears that you don’t even have to get a flight to enjoy yourself at these events!
Submitted by Ginny Largent, EAA Chapter 186.
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Ann Ainsworth, Carol Greer and Kim Lewis complete the Young Eagles certificates.
Officer Jerry Clark and Ginny Largent coordinate this event for fifth graders participating in DARE from Frederick County, Va. Schools.
Ray Comley talks with pilot Jim Greer.
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