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Glasgow, Mont. – June 28, 2006 – Since 1981, Ken James has been flying local eighth graders in Glasgow, Mont. On May 19, 2006, along with six other pilots, he continued his annual tradition.
It all began 25 years ago when a local science teacher, Jerry Hayes, asked James to give rides to his students. Without a plane of his own at the time, James spoke with FBO, Vick Wokal, who agreed to donate a plane and the necessary fuel for the rides.
“Every year I flew approximately 60 to 80 students. Then EAA came out with the Young Eagles program. The local pilots’ club, Valley Hangar, was introduced to the program and our local pilots began volunteering their time and aircraft.
This year we had seven pilots and planes. There were five Cessna 172s, a Cessna 182 and a Cessna 210. The Glasgow Valley Hangar now sponsors this event each year and we also give rides when the local hospital has an open house with their medivac aircraft. We are the smallest community in the continental U.S. with two medivac aircrafts.
The weather was great for our rally with clear skies, 75 degrees and no wind. Montana tends to get a lot of wind so all our pilots are sure to keep their skills sharp to handle the strong gusts that can come up at anytime.
My wife, Connie James, is an 8th grade science teacher. She brought her classes to the airport for our Young Eagles event. She helps with the sorting of the students by weight for each ride. She instructs the students about flight and also helps them build hot air balloons out of paper mache. The balloons stand about eight feet high and are filled with hot air from a three-inch stovepipe. A propane torch is injected into the pipe, heating the air to 500 degrees. When the balloons are full, they let them fly. Some have reached as high as 1,500 to 2,000 feet and flown over 17 miles!
The pilots flying this day were:
- Ted Schye
- Joe Younkin
- Ken James
- Lanny Hanson
- Bob Lipscomb
- Darrell Moorehouse
- Russ Leader
Russ Dahl, Walt Bell, and Jeanne MacPherson spent the day educating the Young Eagles on everything from pre-inspection of an aircraft to the requirements of becoming a private pilot.
Submitted by Ken James, Chapter 1372
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Three new Young Eagles, exchange students from Germany, pose for a photo following their flight.
Russ Leader, a recent graduate of Glasgow High School and new private pilot, stands with Young Eagles pilot Joe Younkin, who flies a Cessna 182.
Pilots Lanny Hanson, Walt Bell, and Jeanne MacPherson get ready for their next flights. With her total currently at 3,534, MacPherson holds the record for the most Young Eagles flown to date!
A group of Young Eagles and their pilots.
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