Naples aviation program puts kids in the pilot’s seat

Reporter: Rich Kolko Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Credit: Experimental Aviation Association.

There is a worldwide pilot shortage, so training them young is a good way to start. And an international program is looking to do just that by handing over plane controls to kids.

The Naples chapter of Experimental Aircraft Association runs the Young Eagles program in Collier County to give kids their first flight in the pilot’s seat.

“The kids will be going up with a pilot,” said Joan Zaleski EAA Naples charter president. “They get to sit up front, and the pilots will let them handle the controls of the airplane.”

The youth program is run monthly to give aspiring young pilots an amazing opportunity to gain experience, inspiring a potential career and passion.

“Most of them have not ever been in an airplane,” Zaleski said.

And 11-year-old Chanel Rodriguez, who is from Naples, was among 25 children who took flight as a “Young Eagle.”

Tammy Lynn was alongside Chanel with the “Big Sister Program.” Lynn let’s children like Chanel know they can be anything they want to be.

Before the children go up in the air, they get time in a simulator. But when we met Chanel, she was ready to take flight in the sky. Pilot Andy Strickland has flown a lot of “Young Eagles,” and he was impressed by Chanel’s ability.

“She’s got very good aerodynamic skills,” Strickland said. “I let her fly the plane, and I was hands off, and she flew perfectly and at 1,200 feet.”

The day was considered a success by everyone involved.

“She was equal parts nervous and excited this morning,” Lynn said. “And then I could tell by her face when she landed that she did like it.”

Since 1992, more than 2 million kids worldwide have gotten their first flight through an EAA program. Some kids as young as 8 years old have sat in the pilot’s seat of an airplane.

If a child wants to fly at the Naples Airport, the next Young Eagles meeting is July 13. Pre-registration is required. To participate, contact the Young Eagles coordinator at YoungEagles1067@gmail.com; otherwise, contact your local EAA chapter.

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