Fairmont flyers give kids a first flight
May 16—PLEASANT VALLEY — A love of aviation usually starts at a young age.
"I wish there was something like this when I was younger," said Tim Ridley, who's been a pilot for 24 years. "I can't imagine having the opportunity that [these kids] have."
Saturday, the Fairmont Municipal Airport buzzed with the sounds of planes taking flight, its parking lots packed with kids and parents lining up to take a ride through the sky.
The local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association and its Young Eagles program teamed up with Fairmont State's professional aviation fraternity Alpha Eta Rho to give kids a chance to go on a flight for free. For many of the kids, this was their first time flying.
"We've had people in the past in Alpha Eta Rho do fly-ins here at the airport and I was trying to bring that back," said Kevin Blaney, president of the AHP fraternity. "I graduated high school from East Fairmont in 2002 and I remember seeing the airport as busy as could be. My goal with this was to get more activity at the airport again."
AHP had local pilots line their planes up in a row for the kids and visitors to see all the different shapes and sizes they come in. Healthnet Aeromedical flew in one of their medical rescue helicopters and gave tours of the cockpit and the rest of the aircraft.
On the other end was the line to sign up for a trip above the skies of Fairmont. Pilots donated their time, planes and fuel to give any kid between 8 and 17 a trip up into the air.
"The whole purpose of the program is an airplane, a kid and a ride," said Rich Judy, Young Eagles coordinator.
The national Young Eagles program was conceived in 1992 in honor of the 100th anniversary of powered flight with the goal of giving 1 million kids a free airplane ride before the day of the anniversary. The organization met that goal and now every year they strive to give 125,000 kids a free flight.
"They always exceed that, even last year, during COVID," Judy said. "It's a very well-known program and we've been doing it for probably 10 years here in North Central West Virginia."
By noon, they had already flown 70 kids with their goal being 100 for the day. By three o'clock, they narrowly missed the goal but flew a total 96 kids.
"I've probably taken 11 kids up today. I've only missed a few of these [events] in the time we've been doing them," said Ridley, one of the pilots who donates his time to the program. "When I was little, my dad would take us out to the airport on Sundays and we'd sit there by the fence and watch the planes."
The main goal of the program is to instill in kids an interest in flying aircraft. Blaney recalls his time spent at fly-ins as a young boy and how it gave him the passion he has today.
"If it wasn't for these [events], I'd have never gotten into this," Blaney said. "I wouldn't have gotten straight As last semester either."
Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email at dkirk@timeswv.com.
