Young Eagles Soar at Creve Coeur Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

Creve Coeur Airport hosted their second annual fall Young Eagles rally on Saturday, October 8. The event, sponsored by the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation (GYAF) and EAA Chapter 32, provided first flight opportunities for 59 youth aged 8-17 in seven different aircraft as well as fun and educational activities throughout the day. Others contributing to the success of the Young Eagles rally include volunteers from Aviation Explorers Post 9032, Gateway STEM High School Air Force JROTC color guard and those airport organizations featured below.

EAA Chapter 32, normally based at St. Charles County Airport Smartt Field, flew their scheduled October Young Eagle rally at Creve Coeur Airport instead of their home field in conjunction with the GYAF's educational exhibits. EAA Chapter pilots, ground crews and registration volunteers brought everything they needed for the day's flights and for the monthly Scout Aviation Badge workshop. Seven aircraft of various types and seating capacity flew the Young Eagles within the flow of the normal airport traffic, with time between flights for a short ground instruction session and presentation of certificates and logbooks. Special thanks to Gateway Flight Training for making space on the apron for the visiting aircraft and assisting with pilot orientation to the airport and local airspace issues.

Along with the Young Eagle flights, our future aviators participated in other activities provided by EAA Chapter 32 and our airport businesses. A riveting exercise was set up near the check-in station; the Scout Aviation Badge workshop was held in the Independent Aviation Solutions hangar; the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation hosted tours of their hangar containing Kiowa, Cobra and Huey helicopters; and the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation opened their V/R Flight Simulation Lab and other aviation education exhibits to all visitors.

The Aero Experience thanks Creve Coeur Airport, the Gateway Youth Aeronautical Foundation and EAA Chapter 32 for teaming up to produce an enjoyable youth aviation event. We look forward to promoting similar events in the year to come. The GYAF will continue to serve visitors throughout the year - contact them for availability.