Youth Aviation Day Offers Flying Fun and Career Opportunities for the Next Generation, Part 4: Young Eagles, Huey and Cobra Flights

 

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. 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 4, we feature the flying opportunities available on Youth Aviation Day. Experimental Aircraft Association Chapters 32, 1402 and 64 teamed up to provide Young Eagle flights for those aged 8-17 in general aviation aircraft. 75 Young Eagles were flown throughout the day, many on their first flights ever. 

One parent's comment represents a frequent reaction to the powerful effect of a Young Eagle flight experience:

"I just want to thank you so much for hosting this event. My daughter has been smiling ear to ear over her first flight. This was such a fantastic event you held! I hope there are plans for next year so we can plan our vacation around it 😉 This flight may have helped her figure out a little bit more which way to go for a career."

The Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation flew over 200 passengers on Youth Aviation Day - 20 Huey flights and 14 Cobra flights. Here we show the positioning, pre-flight briefing and passenger flight of the Huey and the launch and recovery of the Cobra.

The Aero Experience thanks the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation, Creve Coeur Airport and all of the participants represented in this series for producing an outstanding community event!