Young Eagles take to the skies
Warwick Sam Sander-Effron, 11, is a veteran of the Experimental Aviation Association’s (EAA) Young Eagles program. On Saturday, June 9, the young Sugar Loaf resident sat in the co-pilot’s seat of a new Cessna Skylane 182T as he prepared to take off from Warwick Municipal Airport. It was the fourth time in as many years that he, along with dozens of other youngsters, took advantage of the popular introductory Young Eagles flight program. However, Sander-Effron was in for a special treat that day. Local resident and professional pilot Steve Kent was able to offer the youngster a free ride in the state-of-the-art $379,500 airplane because he happens to be the regional sales manager for Cessna Aircraft Corp. “I don’t own it, but I’m allowed to drive it,” he smiled. The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give interested young people, ages 8-17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. These flights are offered free of charge and are made possible through the generosity of EAA member volunteers. Since 1992, more than 1.1 million Young Eagles have enjoyed a flight through the program. Young Eagles have been registered in more than 90 different countries and have been flown by nearly 40,000 volunteer pilots. The licensed pilots, who offered the free rides at Warwick Municipal Airport, began by taking their “co-pilots” and passengers with them on a careful “walk around” preflight inspection of the airplane, while also identifying and explaining the control surfaces that enable the plane to climb, turn and descend. During the actual flights, which usually lasted 15 or 20 minutes, the pilots also explained the purpose of each instrument on the panel and demonstrated how the flight controls work. After landing, all the youngsters who flew received an official Young Eagles certificate signed by the pilot. The Experimental Aircraft Association is an international aviation membership association founded in 1953 and headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisc. The Warwick Valley Pilot’s Association, which maintains Warwick Municipal Airport, hosts the Young Eagles program once or twice each year, depending on the weather.