Another Awesome Aviation Sharing Opportunity

[Yooper Rocketman]

I was called a couple months ago by a teacher friend who was hosting a "Project Based Learning Program" with the theme being "Aviation" for her 8th graders.  She wanted to know if she could culminate the program with a visit to my hangar and share some details about my newly completed project.  I said sure and also offered to come in one day for a classroom session as well.  I visited her school last week and spoke with the two classes conducting the program (28 kids per class).  

Today they visited my airport via school bus, with each class spending about 45 minutes of the field trip in my hangar.  I let every kid sit in the plane and reviewed flight control functions (they got to operate the joysticks while watching the reaction out on the aircraft), engine control levers, and I let them play with my touch screen Garmin G3X's.  They loved the "Apple" type technology on the touch screens, squeezing the zoom features of the maps in and out.

On my way in this morning, I stopped by to see Ivan, the manager of our local Fed-Ex air operations support company, CSA Air, hoping he could provide his Piper Cub for viewing by the kids while they were there (to contrast composite construction, Steve's Mooney made with aluminum, and fabric construction of the cub).  Unfortunately, it was in the local FBO for it's annual, but after some discussion I invited him over to offer a short "Career Talk" near the end of each visit.  He has over 30 pilots on staff, and 28 Cessna Caravans, as well as running the main repair facility for most planes north of Milwaukee.  His presentation went over great, as he has flown for the majors, worked as an A&P / IA, flown cargo and managed several aviation organizations.  We especially encouraged the girls that this opportunity is NOT gender specific, with each of us citing examples of successful woman we personally know in aviation.

 To finish each session, we pulled the plane out, with the teacher and I selecting the 3 most engaged students of each session to sit in the plane, and I did an engine start (jet engines sound SOOOOO COOL when they spool up).  As the bus was leaving with the kids, Ivan and I pondered if we may have planted the aviation bug in one or two of those kids today.  Clearly that was our ulterior motive!

Tom 

Note;

That would be my gray and aging mug in the second picture, Ivan can be seen through the back window in the coed shot.

 

[Godfather]

Thanks for spending some of your free time to engage kids in aviation and the practical uses of technology that drive it. 

[1964-M20E]

cool!!!!

 

[Yooper Rocketman]

I forgot to mention I had a sign up sheet for any kids interested in a free Young Eagles Flight.  Will rally up a couple of my EAA friends to get about 25 of them an airplane ride sometime over the next month. 

Tom

[carusoam]

Tom,

you have some great organizational skills!

Nice job!

Best regards,

-a-

[steingar]

Very, very cool.  Had they programs like this in my day I'd have been a better student.

[JC252MB]

Count me in on the Young Eagles flights, Tom. My ship's in for annual right now but just say the word. Happy to help!

[BKlott]

That is great. A lot of fun too, I bet! 

[Yooper Rocketman]

4 hours ago, JC252MB said:

Count me in on the Young Eagles flights, Tom. My ship's in for annual right now but just say the word. Happy to help!

Sounds good John.

Tom

[Yooper Rocketman]

4 hours ago, JC252MB said:

Count me in on the Young Eagles flights, Tom. My ship's in for annual right now but just say the word. Happy to help!

Crap!!!  Just realized I am out of annual as of today.  Thanks for the comment which reminded me!!  Scheduled with Chad for next week, but they were going to do the ADS-B upgrade too until they started falling behind.  I really don't want to be doing those flights with the turbine!

 

[peevee]

13 hours ago, Yooper Rocketman said:

 I really don't want to be doing those flights with the turbine!

 

Did I mention I'm really 12 years old and interested in a young eagle flight?

[Bob_Belville]

On ‎6‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 9:34 PM, Yooper Rocketman said:

Crap!!!  Just realized I am out of annual as of today.  Thanks for the comment which reminded me!!  Scheduled with Chad for next week, but they were going to do the ADS-B upgrade too until they started falling behind.  I really don't want to be doing those flights with the turbine!

 

Kids and would be kids would be lined up about to Montana.