 |
| By Carmelo Turdo |
Creve Coeur Airport (1H0) is a magical place where you can find anything from vintage aircraft to turbine helicopters. The world-renowned Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum, Piston Aviation and Gateway Flight Training flight schools, STL Aviators Flying Club and thriving youth programs share the airspace with several hundred general aviation and business aircraft based at the field. And the Sunday lunch has become an institution for the airport community! The Aero Experience has posted many stories over the years highlighting the flight activity and events held at Creve Coeur Airport, and here we add this coverage from several visits from last week.
The Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation continues to provide innovative aviation STEM programs for area youth at their hangar directly across the taxiway from the parking lot. The Foundation's popular Intro to Flight program is an 8-week course that gives students and young adults aged 14-25 practical exposure to the basic knowledge and skills necessary to begin flight training or other aviation- related careers with confidence. The Foundation also works directly with other organizations, including a Civil Air Patrol unit that meets at the airport, local EAA chapters providing Young Eagles flights and the Wings of Hope SOAR Into STEM program, to enhance the effectiveness of the area's aerospace education efforts. Here we feature some views from Classes 23 and 24 meeting at the Foundation on Saturday for their first group discussion and simulator sessions. Included here are some students attending Intro to Flight who were also part of a recent SOAR Into STEM session along with those who were sponsored by Henderson Aviation Resources Founder Karl Smith, III, seen here with Foundation President Joe Steimann.
Also on Saturday, The Aero Experience visited the Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation and Flying Museum located on the south end of the airport. This chapter is part of the national organization whose mission is to "honor the sacrifice and service of veterans and their families by preserving and promoting the legacy of Army Aviation." The chapter volunteers, most of whom are military veterans, operate and maintain the classic Huey, Cobra and Kiowa helicopters previously in service with the U.S. Army. The Foundation sponsors the Sky Soldiers Demonstration Team seen at airshows across the nation, and chapters also provide ride events at their base and other locations within their region. The Gateway Chapter's next ride events will be May 17 and June 7 at Creve Coeur Airport. Here we show the aircraft under winter maintenance, with the Cobra being prepared for the installation of an overhauled turbine engine.
Earlier last week, on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon, The Aero Experience was at Creve Coeur Airport capturing aircraft in the traffic pattern for future projects. Here is a sample of what we saw, with more from this set coming in our end of the month General Aviation (and More!) survey post.
No comments:
Post a Comment