Young Eagles Take Flight: Free Plane Rides Offered

If you have a child between the ages of 8 and 17 who would enjoy a flight in an airplane, a local group is offering a free opportunity as part of ChehalisFest. 

Home-built flying machines and their creators often congregate at the Chehalis-Centralia Airport, where the Experimental Aircraft Association meets to plan group flights and community events. Pilots and aviation enthusiasts gather on the third Wednesday of each month for the meeting. Everyone is welcome to the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. 

But aside from discussing flying and planning club trips, the group holds events like the Young Eagles program on Saturday, July 29, at the airport. 

It is an opportunity for children ages 8 to 17 to fly in a general aviation aircraft for free, EAA President Brandon Rakes said. Depending on the pilot, some older children may be able to fly the airplane during level flight.

“The first time you fly an airplane, you feel like you can do anything,” Rakes said. 

The goal is to expose youth to the principles of flight and give them an experience they may not have had before, former EAA president David Neiser said. 

“Maybe some of those kids will become pilots,” he said. 

Currently there is a pilot shortage and the need could be larger in the future, Neiser added. 

Flying in an ultra light aircraft is different than flying in a commercial airliner, he said. The plane remains at less than 5,000 feet. At that altitude, kids can find their house, school and other landmarks from

above. 

Neiser has experience flying low to look at the ground when he was a detective with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Aside from his normal investigative duties, he flew the plane looking for illegal marijuana grow operations because he had a pilot's license. 

“It was like playing hide and seek when you were a kid,” he said. 

Now retired, he enjoys taking trips to the coast in his plane and teaching kids about flying. Last year, he became a substitute teacher and has used aviation as a way to explain physics. He’s also flown members of the Chronicle’s newsroom during assignments.

Rakes said learning about flying and aviation can help students understand the principles of math and science.

“It is a way to learn how to learn,” he said. 

Experimental aircraft classification means the aircraft was built by its owner and not a factory, Rakes said. Many are built from airplane kits the owners order then assemble. They are registered and are held to the same safety standards as any other aircraft.

At the airport, Rakes said there is everything from typical small planes to a ViperJet.

Some of these planes are better than those built in a factory, Rakes said. 

Rakes owns a 1968 Piper Cherokee and often flies it to Westport or Orcas Island for a quick dinner then he comes back to Chehalis. What takes three to six hours by car depending on traffic takes about an hour via plane, he said. 

“It is like a time machine,” Rakes said.