First Young Eagles Rally any advice?
 

My EAA chapter is having their first Young Eagles Rally this weekend. Now that I'm finally flying and out of Phase I, I have volunteered to fly. I'm familiar with the program but I've never been an active pilot before. I read everything on the YE website but it's pretty vague. I was curious what the best way to conduct the flight was? Were expecting a huge turn out as this is the first on of the year after winter. I imagine were not going to have a ton of time between kids for talking. I want to make the flight experience as memorable as possible....in a good way ;) But keep the line moving also. I'm sure we have some experienced Young Eagles pilots here.. care to talk about how you conduct your flights?
Thanks!

First and foremost, think safety.

A good briefing for each kid is a must.

I ran the YE program for 4+ years at our chapter, I can give you info on how we did it. Each chapter is different, you have a lot of latitude in the way things are run,

Call me 530-417-1124 if you want to discuss this more.

Here is a link to one of our events. http://www.hangtowneaa512.org/younge...ejun08web.html click "loop all" to start.

Our chapter has done as many as 430 YE's in one day. We had tables set up along the waiting line with pilots demonstrating how airplanes fly with model planes, answering questions, and telling them what to expect of the flight. It gave them something to do while waiting and took less time briefing for the actual flight.

I've never participated as a pilot yet, just ground crew, but talking to the veteran pilots that have. Be prepared for kids forcibly grabbing controls in terror. I think its rare and they are easy to overpower, but it would benefit you to keep it in the back of your mind during your flights. Have fun, its a great program!

Young Eagles
 

EAA Chapter 91 hosts smaller rallies monthly here at Lees Summit, MO (KC area) from Apr-Oct. Typical turnout is 50-80 kids flown between 0830-1200am.

In Aug the KC Downtown Airport hosts a large rally with approx 350 kids flown between 0830am and 3:30pm as part of a Youth Aviation day.

Time available with the Young Eagles is driven by crowd size and available planes as well as the mix of aircraft. The smaller rallies offer a more personal experience in my opinion, with individual flights being even better.

Time permitting, the best experience includes letting the Young Eagles participate in a walk-around of the aircraft and discussion of control surfaces, etc.

Once in the air, let them fly to the extend of your/their comfort level.

Make sure the ground crew understands your plane's limitations in terms of passenger size/weight, etc.! We've had some huge (tall, overweight, etc.) kids show up at our rallies. It's much better all around if they are placed with a C182, etc. than if they show up at your RV and you have to say no...

Note that policies may dictate which kids are able to ride in your RV. As an example, the Boy Scouts' policy states "Flying in hang gliders, ultralights, experimental class aircraft, and hot-air balloons (whether or not they are tethered); parachuting, and flying in aircraft as part of a search and rescue mission are unauthorized activities."

Be prepared with barf bags (every seat in every plane), water, spare headsets, etc.

The ground team should also try to arrange other activities to keep the Young Eagles occupied while waiting their turn; suggestions include:flight simulators, static displays, sheet metal workshop, model airplane workshop, aviation movies, etc.

We also have a team handling registration/double checking permission paperwork, cranking out flight certificates, etc. so that every Young Eagle departs with flight certificate and logbook in hand. Last year Sporty's included a gift certificate valid for free online ground school training that was very popular.

Good luck,
Mike

Thanks guys just to clarify I won't have anything to do with the admin portion. Our chapter has been doing this for years and have a great system down. I'm just going to be a pilot. I'm planning on talking to some of the members of the chapter also but I just wanted to gain as much insight as possible.

As someone else said, a good briefing is a must. But also, as you taxi out, run up, take off, etc., tell them what is going on and what to expect. Nervous passengers get more nervous when you throttle back on downwind if they don't know it's coming.

We give the kids about half an hour each and they all get the chance to fly the plane if the pilot determines they are old enough and capable. Our policy is that we only take one kid at a time unless the kids want a friend, brother, sister, etc. to also come (of course, that means they go in a Cessna or Piper). That way they all get a chance to fly the plane.

Have a pilot pre-talk so everyone understands where and what kind of pattern of flight to follow...There are usually several aircraft involved....so communication is important. Don't need to do anything fancy....fly smooth, and avoid a "carnival ride approach". Inform and educate, but be sure you don't distract yourself with dialogue from safe flight. Take care of business is primary...Make it fun....and SAFE.

Don't forget to throw a plastic shopping bag in the plane as a sick bag.

The airline-style sick bags do not work well. I had a passenger get sick and overflow one of those bags. Well, the bag overflowed and then the bottom fell out. Yes, nasty stuff.

However I had a BIG man throw up (a lot) in a plastic shopping bag and it worked perfectly. I keep shopping bags (two doubled up) as sick bags now.

So all-in-all, I've had three people throw up...two of them Young Eagles.

One thing that has not been mentioned is to remember to put your flaps down prior to the YE's getting in and out of your RV. Prevents them from stepping in the wrong place. Ground crew should brief them where they can and can't step.

As was mentioned, depending on the YE's age and ability, letting them make a couple gentle turns with you hovering your hand over the stick makes a big impact. Really turns these kids on. Fun to watch the look in their face when you tell them that THEY are flying the airplane. Just don't say "your airplane" and put your hands in your lap. Keep your hand just off the stick so they can't over control.

You will wonder who is having the most fun....you or the Young Eagles.


Regards,