By Ginger Jabour, EAA 1465016, EAA Chapter 288 Newsletter Editor
“What is an airplane? I hear them and someone tried to explain it to me, but I don’t get it.”
Answering that question for a sighted person is easy enough; show them a picture and give a brief explanation, and you’re pretty much done.
But explaining what an airplane is to a visually impaired child is much harder and requires more creativity. Ten students from the Conklin Davis Center for the Visually Impaired in St. Augustine were given the answer in the most exciting way possible, thanks to members of EAA Chapter 288 in Florida.
“I was at the school for a different reason, when I heard about that interaction,” said Steve Walton, a Chapter 288 member. “I told them I think I know a community that can help.”
Steve contacted Jim Clark, the chapter’s coordinator for Young Eagles, a program that gives children ages 8 to 17 a chance to fly for free with participating EAA members.
“We expected to have up to 12 students, so Jim told me we needed to find at least six pilots with four-person airplanes because the students would all be flying with a parent or chaperone from the school,” Steve said.
“We put out the call for volunteer pilots, and we ended up with 10 students and 10 pilots, which worked out great,” he said. “The pilots would be able to concentrate on just one student and not feel they had to hurry through the flight.”
“The school bent over backwards to make sure everything happened. We sent out the forms early so they could be filled out in advance,” Steve said.
Young Eagles flights are almost routine, but the pilots adapted the standard process to address the needs of the visually impaired youngsters. Participating pilots included Steven Bryk, Skip Cady, Ted Chang, Jim Clark, John Foster, Bill Lieberman, John Mazur Jr., Lynn O’Donnell, Lou Rosner, and Eileen Weingram.
“Steve Bryk had this great idea,” Steve said. “He brought in a big radio-controlled model airplane, so the kids were able to come over and feel the airplane. Then John Mazur operated the controls so they could feel the flight control surfaces moving. Steve [Bryk] also explained basics of aerodynamics to them.”
The pre-flight walkaround inspection was a hands-on opportunity for the students to touch the airplanes’ various surfaces and get to know the airplanes they’d be flying in.
EAA member Eileen Weingram was one of the Young Eagles pilots that morning, flying her Twin Comanche.
“The student I had, Jessie, was 16,” Eileen said. “She had some sight up close and was able to see traffic on the Garmin. I always tell Young Eagles that they’re crew members and get to help with the flight, so I showed her how the Garmin worked and how to read it, and she was able to follow on that. She was kind of nervous, as they all are, but happy. She really wanted to fly.
“We took off, leveled off, and flew to the Lake Ashby practice area, where I demonstrated straight and level flight, climbs, and what it all felt like, very gently. She would put her hands on the controls and take them off when I offered to let her fly. With Young Eagles, you always have to see what their comfort level is and not overwhelm them.
“When we got out of the airplane, she was beaming and smiling. She looked so happy! They had a great day, and she just demanded that she had to do it again, so I gave her mom my phone number to contact me again. She’s a good kid who should be up in the air more.
“I pinned the wings on her and she was so happy. It was so great to see a kid get an experience she wouldn’t normally get to do and I’m glad I was able to help.”
“All the kids had a great time,” Eileen said. “I’m sure they all loved the acceleration — everyone loves the acceleration! Everybody just enjoyed the afterglow when we were done: the kids, the pilots, and the parents.”
“Lou Rosner’s student was terrified, and said she didn’t want to do it,” Steve said. “Finally she said, ‘I don’t want to lose gravity,’ so he took her hand, put it on a glasses case, dropped it, and said, ‘See, we didn’t lose gravity.’ Her mom encouraged Lou to keep going, and as soon as the wheels left the ground, the student started saying, ‘This is great!’
“Jim Clark’s student got out of the airplane and was asked if he liked it. His mom told us he was nonverbal and hadn’t spoken in six months. Then the kid said, ‘YES, YES, YES!’ and his mom cried.
“We saw that aviation can reach people on all kinds of levels in ways we just couldn’t imagine,” Steve said.