Edwards volunteers help Young Eagles take flight Published Feb. 15, 2007 By Marti Zamorano 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Edwards volunteers helped Young Eagles get off the ground during the Experimental Aircraft Association's Lancaster Chapter 49 and Edwards Chapter 1000, first round of Young Eagles flights on Saturday at Fox Field in Lancaster, Calif. Twenty-eight young boys and girls showed up to try their hand at flying. The Young Eagles is a national program established by the EAA, which introduces kids, ages 8 to17, to the wonders of flight and the careers that are available in aviation. Some people asked questions, "What's the catch?" "It's free?" "Why would people do that?" Tanya Duke, the newly appointed coordinator for the Young Eagles program, said, "Pilots want to get the younger generation excited about aviation." Ten pilots donated their time, planes and fuel so they could share the joy of flying with several young people. They each flew four to six kids per day. Although there are some repeat flyers, priority was given to those children who have never flown with the Young Eagles. "When I was a kid, I hung out at the local airport bumming rides and it got me excited about the whole aviation thing -- so now this is kind of paying back," said Capt. Bryan Duke, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot for the 416th Flight Test Squadron and a long-standing EAA member. "About 10 years ago, one of the first kids I flew got really excited -- he finished high school and now has his pilot's license -- It's come full-circle," Captain Duke said. "I would like to think I was a part of that." Besides flying in the planes, the children were also allowed to momentarily fly the aircraft during the 30-to-40-minute flight. They were assisted in doing turns and in getting a feel for how the aircraft works. For safety reasons there are absolutely no flight acrobatics allowed. "The safety of the children is our first priority -- we set a specific flight path and we follow it," said Paul Rosales, the ground school instructor for the event who is also Chapter 49's membership coordinator. Before leaving the ground for a Young Eagles flight, the children were walked through ground school training and given an introductory lesson to the aircraft, its features and what safety precautions were needed to have a "safe adventure." "I thought it was so cool, this is the first time I did it, and I flew for 27 minutes and 54 seconds," said a very excited 9-year-old, Joshua Daetz, "It was fun -- I thought we were going to crash into the windmills but we didn't." He went on to say that his favorite part of the flight was "listening to the weather." The Young Eagles also were afforded tours of the Fox Field Air Control Tower. Fox Field donated some fuel to the pilots, while Barnes Aviation and Foxy's Café donated raffle prizes. "This is something people will remember," Captain Duke said. Edwards has their own EAA Chapter 1000, but their Young Eagles programs work in conjunction with the Lancaster Chapter 49. The next EAA's Chapter 49 and 1000 Young Eagles rally will be March 17th, and after that is April 14, both at Fox Field. Interested participants must pre-register before the event. To pre-register for the event call Tanya Duke at (661) 940-3698. The Young Eagles program set a goal to fly one-million children nationwide, and in 2003 they reached that goal. Aviation pioneer Chuck Yeager commemorated the flight by flying the one-millionth child in December 2003. After reaching the goal the organization opted to continue the flights and according to Mr. Rosales, this is the first organized rally for the chapter since 2003. The EAA's Chapter 49 was started in Palmdale, Calif., in 1959 and at that time there were 23 members. The EAA's Chapter 1000 was started here, in 1991 and the initial chapter officers and board of directors were selected. Capt. Jim Piavis served as the chapter's first president.