EAA Chapter 64 Provides Young Eagle Flights for Area Youth Group

By Carmelo Turdo

EAA Chapter 64 provided Young Eagle Flights on Sunday to 38 members of a youth group from the Liberty Worship Center. Eight aircraft were ready at St. Louis Metro-East Shafer Airport in St. Jacob, IL around noon, and the pilot briefing and Young Eagle registration began shortly thereafter. The event was coordinated between EAA Chapter 64 and Derek Bernett, a retired USAF pilot and St. Louis University Engineering instructor who leads the group's STEM program. The Young Eagle Flights are an excellent way to learn first-hand about aviation and enjoy a flight experience with pilots who care enough to donate their time and aircraft at each Young Eagle event. The flights were made in a variety of aircraft. A sample of the flights are shown below.

 

Special thanks go to pilots Eve Cascella, Nick Turk, Mike Lotz, Steve Elliott, John Schaefer, Andrew Mills, Dan Olsen, and Bob McDaniel, Young Eagles Coordinator, for making this a great EAA Young Eagles event.

St. Louis Flight Training Changes Management, Continues Operations at St. Louis Downtown Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

St. Louis Flight Training celebrated a change in management during a hangar party Saturday afternoon at St. Louis Downtown Airport. The founder and previous owner, Corey Tomczak, hosted a gathering of flight instructors, student pilots and guests to celebrate the flight school's seven years of operation and transfer of ownership to Ken Kopp, a retired USAF C-130 Navigator and civilian pilot who is enthusiastic about the future of the business. In recent months, additional instructors have been added to the staff, and currently the aircraft are undergoing regular inspections and updating to make the flight training experience more effective and enjoyable. Corey Tomczak will still be a fixture in St. Louis aviation. He remains available as a flight instructor and is the owner of Gateway Jets, an aircraft management company with clients at St. Louis Downtown Airport and Spirit of St. Louis Airport.  

The new ownership intends to honor current student training agreements and posted policies, and will announce any changes in operations as they develop. New students are encouraged to contact St. Louis Flight Training and schedule your introductory flight!

   

Wings of Hope Hosts Plane Wash to Benefit International Humanitarian Aviation Programs

By Carmelo Turdo

Wings of Hope hosted a plane wash fundraiser Saturday at their Spirit of St. Louis Airport facility to benefit international humanitarian aviation programs. Members of the Wings of Hope Young Ambassadors and Alpha Eta Rho, the international professional college aviation fraternity with students from Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology, spent much of the day washing a variety of aircraft. This year’s plane wash received special promotion from GoJet Airlines, and raised $3,955 according to Wings of Hope. Special thanks also goes to Dr. Jessica Watson, Global Programs and Partnerships Director and Coordinator of the Young Ambassadors program, and to all who participated in the event.

The Young Ambassadors program supports Wings of Hope’s international projects through social, educational and fundraising events. Their mission is to engage, empower and inspire young professionals aged 21 - 45 to create cross-cultural connections and help address global problems while building awareness of Wings of Hope.  Alpha Eta Rho is an intercollegiate non-profit organization that serves as a contact between the aviation industry and educational institutions to foster, promote and mentor student leaders through education, charity, scholarship, and service, toward successful professional careers in the aviation industry.*

Wings of Hope is a global humanitarian charity that serves as an aviation non-profit organization.  The mission statement contains the objectives of delivering humanitarian programs to the poor and assisting communities in gaining self-sufficiency.  Using aircraft to reach remote places is the logical method.  Wings of Hope incorporated in 1967, and has since provided humanitarian and development services around the world and in the U.S. through an inter-faith approach to serving the needs of all mankind.

*Quoted from the Wings of Hope Young Ambassadors and Alpha Eta Rho mission statements.

Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association Hosts Bombardier Challenger 350 Team at April Meeting

By Carmelo Turdo

The Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association (GSLBAA) hosted the Bombardier Challenger 350 demonstrator team Friday during their April meeting held at the Aero Charter hangar, Spirit of St. Louis Airport. The Challenger 350 on display, barely six months old, made an impressive backdrop as GSLBAA members and guests gathered for lunch provided by PM BBQ prior to the Challenger product line presentation and aircraft tour.

Following lunch, Bombardier Senior Sales Engineer for Business Aircraft, Laurence Casia, gave an overview of the Challenger line of business jets culminating with the updates given to the 350 series. The Challenger 350 mid-size jet, first delivered in 2014, contains improvements over the 300 series that make the aircraft more comfortable and efficient to operate. Externally, the 350 has more powerful Honeywell turbofan engines, new canted winglets and larger passenger windows. Internally, the large, full-height cabin offers more comfortable seating and cabin management system to give passengers more control over their environment. The cockpit features advanced Rockwell avionics that include a synthetic vision system, weather radar and dual inertial reference system. The Challenger 350 can cruise at over 500mph at 45,000 feet and has a range of 3200nm. Following the presentation, the Bombardier Challenger 350 team was given a token of appreciation from GSLBAA, accepted by Business Aircraft Sales Director, Ed Thomas.     

A tour of the Challenger 350 revealed the amenities of the full-width cabin - no crouching, bending or slithering required in this living room of the skies. Six oversized seats, a couch and fold-out table tops offer comfort and utility, and the large cargo capacity and lavatory make the cross-country flights more practical. The cockpit, though not large, is well organized and offers excellent pilot visibility. The following walk-around and cabin series illustrates the overall impression of the Challenger 350:

       












The Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association (GSLBAA) has over 300 members and represents over 40 different businesses. GSLBAA provides a forum for members to learn about the latest business aviation aircraft, products and services and network among each other to strengthen the local business aviation community. The membership and guests meet monthly, and special fund-raising events provide resources for the GSLBAA Education Foundation and Wings of Hope humanitarian aviation operations. See the links above for more information on GSLBAA and the Bombardier Challenger 350 series business jet.

The Aero Experience thanks the Greater St. Louis Business Aviation Association and Aero Charter for their hospitality during our visit to the April monthly meeting.