Youth Aviation Day Offers Flying Fun and Career Opportunities for the Next Generation, Part 2: Central Exhibit Area

By Carmelo Turdo and Mark Nankivil

The First Annual Youth Aviation Day, held Saturday at Creve Coeur Airport, offered high flying fun and an opportunity to connect with local aviation organizations in a family-friendly atmosphere. The event, conceived by the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation and enthusiastically adopted by the airport as a public outreach initiative, honors the Foundation's mission of inspiring the next generation to discover the world of aviation. Visitors to Youth Aviation Day had a wide variety of activities to enjoy, including aviation club exhibits in the Foundation hangar, pedal planes for the younger children, aircraft displays from area businesses, free EAA Young Eagle flights and ride opportunities in the Gateway Chapter Army Aviation Heritage Foundation Vietnam-era Army Huey and Cobra helicopters. 

In this multi-part series, The Aero Experience reports on the many unique aspects of this new Midwest Aviation event in support of the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation. In Part 1, we presented a survey of the day's activities, with more detailed coverage coming this week. We thank all of the event sponsors, especially Mungenast St. Louis Acura and Alton Toyota, Team Gateway to a Cure, Schaefer's Hobby Shop, Gateway Flight Training, and those who donated to the Foundation in recent weeks. 

In Part 2, we include the activities and displays located in the central exhibit area surrounding the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation. Visitors entering the airport grounds and could proceed either to the main terminal or to the aircraft displays on the south end of the hangar complex (to be featured in Part 3). Here we begin with our sponsor exhibit from Mungenast St. Louis Acura, with Foundation President Joe Steimann and Peter Mungenast, and the food provider Dough Boys Wood Fired Pizza.

The central exhibit area consisted of a sealed-off section of the taxiway outside of the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation hangar. Families gathered in this space to view aircraft displays, visit with local aviation group representatives and participate in fun activities. The young future aviators enjoyed flying their pedal planes in the traffic pattern around the "runway" mat in the presence of real air traffic controllers. 

A popular attraction in the central exhibit area was the F-4 Phantom II jet fighter cockpit mobile exhibit that can also be seen at events throughout the region. This fully-restored cockpit was manufactured (with the rest of the plane!) in 1972, one of over 5,000 Phantoms of all models made in St. Louis by McDonnell Douglas. It is painted to represent Phantom 66-0338, a former 131st FW Missouri Air National Guard jet that achieved two victories in the Vietnam War. That aircraft is now on display at Whiteman AFB, MO. Appearing with the Phantom cockpit are the U.S. Air Force recruiter TSGT Dale and the former 131st FW Commander, Colonel Robert Leeker.

Youth Aviation Day featured a variety of exhibitors in and around the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation hangar. These local aviation and aerospace organizations interacted with visitors throughout the event, with most offering a hands-on activity or demonstration. Starting with the FAA Air Traffic Control tent, we include a sample of the exhibitors and their banners:

Aircraft on display around the central exhibit area included those based at the airport and several that were flown in before the gates opened to the public. Included here are a North American SNJ-5 Texan and the Waco JYM and JWM mail planes from the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum. A Douglas EA-1E Skyraider was provided by the Midwest Wild Relics Refuge, and the Bell Helicopter OH-58C Kiowa is being restored as a flying exhibit for the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation.

Representing business aviation, two modern turboprop transport aircraft stood out for their size on the apron: a privately-owned Beech (Raytheon) B200 King Air and Cessna 208B Grand Caravan from Air Choice One. Air Choice One specializes in providing connecting flights from Midwest airline hubs to smaller communities. We thank Air Choice One Chief Pilot, Captain Colt Thatcher, and his crew for showing off their new aircraft.

Another unique attraction at Youth Aviation Day was the Precision Machining Technology mobile lab from Southwestern Illinois College. The new exhibit showcases the variety of machining equipment used in their current and future training facilities. This year, Southwestern Illinois College received a $7.5M state grant to develop a manufacturing academy at their Belleville campus. Here we show some of the work stations in the mobile lab, and we will feature a tour by Industrial Technology Coordinator Mark Bosworth in an upcoming video.

In Part 3 of The Aero Experience coverage of Youth Aviation Day, we will feature additional aircraft and helicopter displays provided by local aviation organizations.