This Saturday our EAA chapter is putting on their first Young Eagles Rally of the year. I have volunteered to fly along with about 5 other pilots. I was curious if we had any pilots on here that were active in the program. I'm going to be asking at the pilots meeting but I was curious how much Aviation info to give to the kids. I don't want to overload them with pilot Jargon but I want them to have a memorable experience. My airplane is very easy to overcontrol so I'm a bit hesitant to let them fly it. My passenger stick is removeable with a pip pin. Thoughts?

Our chapter will fly them weekly throughout the summer. We have not really had any trouble with any of them grabbing the stick or yoke and not letting go. It is easy to overcome a young kid even if he is trying to fight you and there is always a good hand slap (or back of head slap in a Cub) if it is needed. Most of them are so in awe of the experience that I find only about half of them will take me up on the offer to "fly" it and even then it only last for a brief time before they want me to "take over" again. Never let your hands off the control though as you never know when one of them may get heavy handed and yank or bank.

It is a lot of fun and you will enjoy it as much as they do. Just talk them through what you are doing ie: run-up, flaps, throttle reductions, landings, etc and that will be plenty of info for them...more than they will remember. The benefit of talking them through everything will allow them to know what to expect and not be surprised...surprised kids can equal scared kids and you do not want to do that.

I have been YE coordinator for Chapter 608 for about 12 years now. Our chapter based out of Scottsbluff NE has flown over 2000 YE's. We Fly YE out of BFF, SNY,AIA, and IBM. I have flown over 100 YE myself. It is a real experience to fly someone who is scared to get in the plane but once you get them in the air to have their eyes open up and when you get them on the ground they are litterally jumping for joy...you have changed that person's life. We have folks on the ground who explain the workings of the aircraft, people (my wife) who gather the info, help the parents fill out the forms, and coordinate the kids to what planes they will fly in. It is a real group effort. We do this along with coordinating the flyin, manage airplane parking, crowd control, and whatever military we get to fly in. Our flyin is always the first Sat of June. You are all welcome and we always need more YE pilots and planes. I will let them take the stick if they are so inclined......some of these kids do quite well...some don't want to touch the stick and I don't push it. Never had anyone say they didn't like it! HC

BTW: I've never had nor any of the the other pilots had to clean up someone who got sick when we do this

Hi AvidFlyer,

My EAA Chapter also fly Young Eagles. I second what the others have said. We added a schedule and sign up to our web site (http://www.eaa839.com/young%20eagles.htm). It works to provide information, the dates and to give us an idea how many kids to expect. The system has worked real well and has really helped to coordinate the number of pilots, planes and support we will need for the event.

The worst that has ever happened to me was when I flew two twin sisters. I asked them to please be quiet during take-off and landing otherwise they were free to gab as much as they liked. I was about 10 feet in the air when they both let out an ear piercing scream that was so loud I had to rip my headset off!

After making sure I still had control of the airplane I asked if something was wrong and did I need to turn back? They sheepishly said that this was so cool they just couldn't help it! I took a break after the flight to regain my wits and get some of my hearing back!

You will have a great time!

Skystrider wrote:I was about 10 feet in the air when they both let out an ear piercing scream that was so loud I had to rip my headset off!

After making sure I still had control of the airplane I asked if something was wrong and did I need to turn back? They sheepishly said that this was so cool they just couldn't help it! I took a break after the flight to regain my wits and get some of my hearing back!

Had that one happen more than once...now I (try to remember) to isolate the Pilot on the intercom during takeoff for that reason. They are screaming for joy, but it is still ear piercing. If you cannot isolate the intercom, just switch it off during the takeoff roll and flip it back on when you get airborne.

Joey,

I have done several YE rallies - you will love it. Echoing what others have said, I have found that most don't want to fly and just want to look out the window. You will gage each kid based on how much they interact. One kid I took, we talked and did Q&A the entire flight. Many others hardly said a word. One kid fell asleep - not kidding. I had one kid who was a MS Flight Sim kid - never flow a real plane - flew almost the entire time - did amazing. Had another kid fly that just couldn't connect pull-up, push-down. He made himself a little queasy. It was fun.

I have always left my stick in, and do a good brief. I instruct them that if I say "My Airplane" to grab the seat tube supports so they have a specific action to do and I know their hands are free. I would have them practice it twice while briefing and strapping them in. I have not had any problems, but that's a personal decision I think - do what you feel comfortable with. At least you can reach over and man-handle them if they misbehave - mine are behind me!

One thing I did this last time, was mount my camera looking aft and video taped. I got the email address of the parent, and then uploaded to youtube and sent them the link - they loved it.

One other piece of advice - make sure to get the parents to take a picture of you and your passenger. I keep forgetting to do that, and kicking myself. Those are the types of things you hang on your wall when you are old an crusty, flying a desk and looking back on the good deeds you participated in while pursuing your passion. Who knows, maybe one of those kids will end up as Flight Commander on Mission to Mars - wouldn't THAT be a cool pic on our wall!!

Have fun man. I take it you won't be at Lincoln? Is this happening at Nut Tree?

Thanks Emmet yes this is happening at VCB this Saturday morning. Figures it conflicts with Lincoln. May is super busy with EAA stuff too.

Flying Young Eagles is a great experience, and you will absolutely love it. Our chapter here has a monthly YE Rally, with anywhere from 10 to 100 kids. You will actually feel like you are doing something really good in the world!

We try to limit the aviation jargon too. When we do the pre-flight tours we tell the group of kids and parents that the plane has "flippers" and "fins" just like a fish does, for the same reason. Then we say that the flippers work the same way as when you stick your hand out the window of a car, the air pushes it one way or another depending on the speed and how much you tilt your hand. We say that this flipper pushes the tail of the plane left or right, this flipper pushes the tail up and down, and those flippers out there on the wingtips tilt the plane back and forth. Then we say "But if the company that built this plane called them flippers, they wouldn't be able to charge twenty thousand bucks for it, so they gave the flippers special names... that one is a rudder, that one is an elevator, and those opposite-working ones out there are called ailerons... but they still work just like the flippers and fins on a fish". The kids get the mental picture of how they work, and they get a little bit of aviation language in a funny way that doesn't bore them.

Too much technical stuff after that can run into the attention span of the kids, so we then change over to showing how the control stick and pedals work the flippers. Then we tell them that we'll get revved up at the end of the runway and accelerate to X miles an hour, and then when the air is flowing over the wings fast enough it will lift the plane off the ground, then we'll use the flippers to steer it.

Hope these ideas are of some help,

Bill

AvidFlyer wrote:This Saturday our EAA chapter is putting on their first Young Eagles Rally of the year. I have volunteered to fly along with about 5 other pilots. I was curious if we had any pilots on here that were active in the program.

It's a lot of fun taking Young Eagles. My husband and I have both taken over 400 Young Eagles apiece, and we had a blast doing it. Some of them are kids in the family, then there are kids of neighbors, kids of friends, and kids at our local school who finish reading all the books in the Mark Twain Reading program. We have 60 Young Eagles to take flying in a few weeks at our local airport.

I normally let the kids fly the airplane if they want to, and haven't had any problems doing that yet.

Here is a little summary I wrote up for the AOPA forum a few years back about our flights with the kids from school:

Weather: Our go – no go – decision for taking “Young Eagles” is made about an hour before the first flight. Our weather criteria includes winds 10 knots or less, fairly good visibility and ceiling, and no forecast of moderate turbulence or LLWS. We always try to go early in the morning.

Safety Talk: Before the “Young Eagles” get off the bus, we talk to them about safety around airplanes and at an airport – primarily where they can and can not be, not touching the prop, and no running around the airplanes. One time I had a youngster run full blast (just after my “don’t run” comment) right into the horizontal stabilizer hitting himself right between the eyes. He then fell backwards hitting his head on the pavement – goose eggs front and back of his head.

Special “Young Eagles:” When we have several pilots and lots of kids to fly, I always ask about a history of motion sickness. I take those kids (because I’m gentle, a nurse, and a mother figure). We fly those kids first before it might get bumpy. I also have them sit in the front seat, so I can assess them for sweating, change in skin color and especially change in talkativeness – all good indications they might be getting sick. Men and boys are less likely to tell you if they are getting sick. Everyone always, always knows where the sic sacs are located.

Preflight Briefing: Preflight briefing is a challenge when you have a whole bunch of excited and noisy kids all waiting to go flying. We do the initial briefing en masse, and then each load of kids gets another briefing in the plane (seatbelt, unlocking the door, location of sic sacs, etc). Weight and balance sometimes dictates who gets to sit where. Otherwise we toss a coin if necessary, but they usually work the seating out themselves.

Flight: Everyone has a headset so we can communicate with each other. We fly them over their school and house and/or farms. Some are great at telling you where they live; others don’t seem to have a clue. I talk with them a lot while we’re flying and encourage their questions, and usually tell them I can’t visit with them after I enter the pattern to land.

Post Flight: When any airplane is taxiing, those on the ground know where they must be. None-the-less we get the airplanes shut down as soon as possible. Then we have a short post flight briefing to answer any questions and take lots of pictures. But most are anxious to get to their friends and share that “Young Eagle” experience with them.

The last time we took a group of kids, I got hugs from 40 kids, and their amazing thank-you notes are always something to cherish.

If I’m going to take just one or two kids, then I have them come to the farm and I take them in the Citabria. I normally offer to let them feel the controls if they want.

Here is a little video I made about kids and planes. Most of the photos are of some of the Young Eagles we've taken. The shots of the kids with me in the Skyhawk is my way of trying to share with other people what I see when I take these kids flying...this is the world as I see it.

Hi Diana,

What a great video! It makes me want to run right out and do the same for our Chapter! Thanks!

Excellent write up! Thank you!

Skystrider wrote:Hi Diana,

What a great video! It makes me want to run right out and do the same for our Chapter! Thanks!

Thanks, Rod. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Flying with these kids really puts a smile on my face.

AvidFlyer wrote:This Saturday our EAA chapter is putting on their first Young Eagles Rally of the year. I have volunteered to fly along with about 5 other pilots. I was curious if we had any pilots on here that were active in the program. I'm going to be asking at the pilots meeting but I was curious how much Aviation info to give to the kids. I don't want to overload them with pilot Jargon but I want them to have a memorable experience. My airplane is very easy to overcontrol so I'm a bit hesitant to let them fly it. My passenger stick is removeable with a pip pin. Thoughts?

So, how did it go?

Diana I blew a tire on my first landing. Up until that point it was great. The look on that kids face was priceless when I lifted off. He was a foster kid with no family and it was his first airplane ride EVER. Pretty cool experience. Too my plane required a tow back to the hangar and was out of commission for the rest of the day.