YOUNG EAGLES
Flight Program Lets Kids Soar
BY SUSAN USHER
A group of Union Elementary
School students recently took to the
skies, experiencing the exhiliration
of flying first-hand, of seeing earth
and sky from a new angle.
The individual flights were made
possible through the EAA Aviation
Foundation Young Eagles Program
and the services of volunteer pilot
Jim Stovekcn.
For Stovekcn, Eagle Rights are
an opportunity to share with young
people one of his loves ? the free
dom and excitement of flight ? with
the hope of piqueing their interest in
aviation.
"If it makes a difference to one of
the kids who flew it's worth it," he
said. "Some of them said they would
like to come back."
Based on reactions of the 18 third
and fourth grade students who went
on demostration flightr. May 27 or
June 11, guidance counselor Gail
Novello thinks it was a mission ac
complished. "1 have never seen such
faccs," she said.
For the Buddies who chose to go
up, the program offered more, she
said, a boost to their self-esteem and
a chance to "experience something
they might never otherwise experi
ence."
Stovekcn said the short demonstra
tion flights are a chance to introduce
children to new possibilities, among
them, knowledge that it doesn't take
genius to fly an aircraft, that "an av
erage person can learn to fly."
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The EAA Aviation Foundation
was created by the Experimental
Aircraft Association, an internation
al organization for homcbuilt and
other aviation enthusiasts. The aim
of its Young Eagles Program is to
introduce young people to the world
of aviation. By the year 2003 the
Foundation wants its members to
take 1 million kids up for free air
flights, says Stoveken. a local pilot
who has been flying since 1966 and
has been an EAA member since
1978.
Since moving to this area
Stoveken has taken up about 10 oth
er children in addition to the
Dolphin Buddies.
"We're trying to stimulate interest
in aviation in kids," says Stoveken, a
retired Johnson & Johnston surgical
needle-maker who moved to the
Ocean Isle Beach area from New
Jersey. "So far we (EAA members)
are about half-way to our goal.
We've just past the 50,000 mark."
"Aviation is kind of dying in the
United States, partly because of
product liability concerns." For ex
ample. the cost of liability insurance
that must be set aside by manufac
turers has contributed, he said, to
Cessna no longer building a single
engine plane.
An Eagle Right begins with a
flight kit that briefs youngsters in
advance on what to expect It de
scribes the parts of an airplane, the
four basic forces of flight and dis
cusses flight safety and pre flight
procedures.
At the airport, Stoveken usually
tells youngsters about his plane, a
Cessna 172 four-seater, notes refer
ence points on s chart to lock for
during flight, and takes students on a
"walk around" preflight inspection.
But the Dolphin Buddies were so
excited about the prospect of flying,
he said, that Stoveken skipped the
preliminaries and took straight to the
air, one child at a time.
The actuil flight may be the most
memorable experience of the Young
Eagles Program, but it isn't the end
of it. Each child receives an Eagle
Right certificate and is registered as
an Eagle Right member. Names are
listed in the world's largest logbook
on display at the EAA Air Ad
venture Museum in Oshkosh, Wis.,
and student receive two issues of
Sports Aviation For Kids magazine,
which intrnrfiw>t then: to aviation
personalities and activities, and in
formation on Foundation scholar
ship programs and aviation organi
zations in their area.
Novello learned about the Young
Eagles Program in a round-about
way, through Union's school adviso
ry council chairman Earl Andrews,
who had met Stoveken and learned
about the program.
"One of the things the school is
trvinff to (in with thr Dnlnhin
* %0 ,
Buddies is to stir their interest." said
Andrews. "This looked like a good
? ????? -J .. "
WOJ IU UU II.
While Stoveken has no desire or
intent to compete with the fee
charging tour services based at the
Ocean Isle Bcath and Brunswick
County airports, he's willing to take
an interested child up "anytime I'm
available," he said. "It's my way of
giving something to the community
for letting me keep my plane here."
Children ages 8 through 17 are el
igible to participate in Young
Eagles, with their parent's or guar
dian's written permission. Stoveken
prefers for each child to be accom
panied by a responsible adult in ad
dition to himself. Groups of children
must be accompanied by a group
leader.
Community programs that serve
children ages 8 through 17 or indi
vidual parents interested in their
child taking part in Young Logics
may contact Stoveken at 579-8197.
moro COKTM?UTK)
DANNY WINNANS and Sarah Jackson display their Eagle Flight
certificates after a demonstration flight with pilot Jim Stove ken.
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