Letter: Young Eagles Rally a success

To the community,

The Truckee Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) held a Young Eagles Rally at the Lake Tahoe Airport on Sept. 21 and gave free airplane rides to 46 area youngsters.

The EAA started the Young Eagles program in 1993 with the goal of introducing a million youths, 8 through 17 years old, to aviation with a free airplane ride by the Wright brothers’ flight centennial, Dec. 17, 2003. We exceeded the national goal and continued the program, having flown over 1.8 million Young Eagles worldwide since 2003.

Our EAA Chapter 1073 did not do a rally at South Lake Tahoe last year due to smoke canceling the Lake in the Sky Air Show, and we were happy to return this year. We’ll be back again next year and do more rides for more Young Eagles.

Pilots are not compensated monetarily for their time or their aircraft costs, but they receive an even greater reward, that of seeing the smiles of Young Eagles when they deplane after their flights.

The pilots and ground volunteers enjoyed the small town air show atmosphere, and also noticed how appreciative kids and parents were for our doing the flights. Your communities’ members’ attitudes were additional rewards for all of us.

Thank you to the airport staff for helping with airport arrangements, and to the members of the air show committee who helped with lots of small details.

We’ll see you and your soon-to-be Young Eagles next year at the Lake Tahoe Airport.

Tom Meadows, EAA 1073 Young Eagles Coordinator