Laurel Nokomis School moms and sons make memories at Venice Municipal Airport

VENICE – Tanner Reichert, a sixth-grader at Laurel Nokomis School, chewed a bite of his donut and watched as the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office helicopter descended for a landing Friday evening at Florida Flight Training Center – which was hosting the school’s 2022 Mother/Son Flight Night at Venice Municipal Airport.

“He likes airplanes,” mom Lindsay Reichert said, while Tanner patiently swallowed.

Once finished, he said airplanes are “neat, they’re fast,” then added he wanted to fly someday.

Asked what he wanted to fly, he paused and said, “Fly a helicopter.

‘I’d like to fly that one,” Tanner added, with a nod to the law-enforcement helicopter.

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Ann Allen, a parent with the Laurel Nokomis Parent Teacher Organization, wanted to try something a little different for the mother-son annual date night and thought the airport venue offered a perfect opportunity to keep the boys interested and perhaps whet their appetites for science, technology engineering and math.

About 100 moms, with 175 sons, RSVP’d for the event, which sold out in two days.

“I just wanted to think bigger than doing it at a bowling alley or a jump place; I wanted to give the boys and the moms a cool experience together,” said Allen, who’s not an aspiring pilot herself. “We just decided to reach out to the airport, we came to them with the idea and they were so receptive.”

“It’s an early introduction to the aviation industry; who knows where this may take them?”

A door to career possibilities

In addition to the sheriff’s helicopter and the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, the evening included four static aircraft displays outside and a fifth inside the Florida Flight Maintenance hangar, as well as a cadre of flight instructors and members of the Venice EAA Young Eagles, who were available to talk about airplanes, flight and possible career futures.

Moritz Koester, the new CEO of Florida Flight Training, said it was easy to say “yes” to the parents group when he was approached.

“I have kids myself and I know how great it is to offer opportunities like this one,” said Koester, who was joined by his wife and three children – including their two sons, Lias, 5, and Joshua, 3. “I was inspired very early on to get into aviation myself and it’s just a pleasure to be able to open our doors and share our passion with kids.”

Some of the adults on hand, like Paul Cellez, Young Eagles Coordinator with the EAA, are old hands at introducing youths to flight.

“That’s what we’re here for, offer them airplane rides, we have rallies once a month and we have local pilots give rides to the kids,” Cellez said.

The program started in 1992 to give youths aged 8 to 17 an opportunity to fly in a general aviation aircraft. There were no flights Friday, but one can learn about upcoming events by visiting https://www.youngeaglesday.org or by emailing Cellez at Grumpyflyer1@gmail.com.

Alina Zhulina, who attended with her son, fifth-grader Michael Trubkin, 10, was happy that all the activities were earthbound.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” Zhulina said. “At the beginning I thought it was going to be an actual flight but he said, 'Mom, don’t worry, nobody's going to fly today.'”

Michael, who had a green cast on his left forearm, said his favorite plane was a Beechcraft Bonanza B36TC because it had a back seat.

Michael said he wanted to be a pilot in the military – specifically a Navy pilot.

Coincidentally, that Bonanza was owned by retired Navy Capt. Jay Fahs, Jr., a local attorney.

Fahs, who shepherded children in and out of his plane, said his wife was friendly with the organizers but he also enjoyed teaching the boys.

“I like getting kids interested in things that are technical,” the retired 30-year veteran added.

First-graders Jameson Bailey and Sashti Suresh liked the Piper Warrior II – one of the flight school aircraft – on display.

“We were like playing around with the controls,” Jameson said.

Sashti added that it was “awesome fun.”

The Coast Guard MH060 Jayhawk helicopter generated the most buzz, as moms and sons lined up to be taken out in small groups to tour the rescue vehicle.

“The Coast Guard really was a huge, big moment of the event,” Allen said. “I think everybody was blown away, including myself.”

“My son was just like, 'Mom, I got to go in the rescue basket and feel what it was like to be rescued,'” Allen added, referring to her son Austin, 8. “I feel like he was able to learn new things.”

Over at the maintenance hangar, a shiny, Italian-made Tecnam P2006T MKII premium edition, also operated by Florida Flight Training, received its share of oohs and aahs.

Flight instructor Kyle Busalacchi noted that the boys were all interested in the “bells and whistles” on the airplane.

“A lot of future pilots out here,” he added.

Laurel Nokomis principal Ray Wilson was impressed with the evening’s entire concept.

A unique night out

“This is my sixth year at Laurel but I believe this is a first,” Wilson said “It ties in with the uniqueness of our school, being the district’s only K-8 model and just giving our students something different – I think is definitely something different.

“I like the exposure piece because there's actually a career piece attached to this as well, too,” added Wilson, who praised the PTO for the event, as well as its fundraising effort to provide academic support for the school.

‘It’s not just their academic support, as you can see, they provide other avenues and venues for the children to enjoy,” Wilson said, “To know that this is in the backyard, it’s a unique opportunity.”

Allen was pleased by the variety of industry professionals – including avionics, mechanics and pilots – who donated their time to offer a comprehensive picture of the aviation industry.

She’s also planning on a follow-up visit next year.

“We just really wanted to take it to a whole different level and create those memories with our sons and have them forever,” Allen said. “It’s not often that moms get to be cool with their sons.

“I figure this event allowed us to connect with them in a different way – hopefully we achieved that.”

Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Moms and sons at Laurel Nokomis visit Florida Flight Training