{This is not strictly RV Related, and I was pretty hesitant to post it until encouraged by DR. We've had a few very busy threads this week that were fairly broad on Experimental aviation, and they got me thinking....This is vital to the future of what we do!}
A common thread among aviators today is “why aren’t there more kids getting involved in aviation?" When this question gets discussed, it often comes down to (1) they can’t afford it or (2) They simply lack the interest. As difficult as it might sound, number 1 can be fixed if we want to fix it – by giving away free rides and free opportunities to let interested kids hang around the airport and help us build airplanes for instance. But what if they simply aren’t interested? Why aren’t they? I’m sure that we all think something is wrong with a kid that doesn’t like airplanes…right? Maybe we aren’t asking the right question to solve the problem (because you can’t solve a problem unless you really understand it). The real question we need to answer first is, “Well what got YOU hooked?!”
I can tell you that my mother tells everyone that the first word I said was “airpoo” as I looked up in the sky and pointed at a passing airplane. I can’t ever remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by anything that flew. I don’t know why – I seem to have been born with the interest. But I know that some of the things that kept me interested was seeing Whirlybirds and Sky King on TV. I built models that I bought with my small allowance. I was excited anytime I could get near an airplane- taking Dad to the local airport to catch a commercial flight, watching the floatplanes at the local dock that gave rides over Lake Bemidji. Most of the books I checked out from the library were about airplanes and flying – big books on WW II aircraft and the air war, stories of WW I fighters. I had Charles Lindbergh’s book on my bookshelf early on. My father wasn’t a pilot, but his job as an educator put him on a NASA mailing list where he received big thick reports (full of color pictures) of every manned space mission – and they came straight to me!
I flew U-control models because I couldn’t afford R/C, then got the opportunity to work on real airplanes in my early teens due to the kindness of an FBO and some of his leaseback pilots. But that wasn’t what got me interested – it KEPT me interested. I was interested because of some sort of spark set very early on. And it didn’t hurt that flying was seen as unique – it set me apart, made me special (because ALL aviators were special!), and since I wasn’t very good at sports, it gave me a niche. And…it didn’t hurt that I could read at a level well above my grade to understand those books on flying earlier than most. {Did anyone else ever have a copy of “Ann Can Fly!” in their house?}
So what got YOU interested? And how can you use that information to help get today’s kids interested? All the Young Eagle’s rides in the world won’t get them hooked if they aren’t interested – oh, they’ll take the ride…then go do something else. They need to get that spark first. How do we ignite it?
Paul
A common thread among aviators today is “why aren’t there more kids getting involved in aviation?" When this question gets discussed, it often comes down to (1) they can’t afford it or (2) They simply lack the interest. As difficult as it might sound, number 1 can be fixed if we want to fix it – by giving away free rides and free opportunities to let interested kids hang around the airport and help us build airplanes for instance. But what if they simply aren’t interested? Why aren’t they? I’m sure that we all think something is wrong with a kid that doesn’t like airplanes…right? Maybe we aren’t asking the right question to solve the problem (because you can’t solve a problem unless you really understand it). The real question we need to answer first is, “Well what got YOU hooked?!”
I can tell you that my mother tells everyone that the first word I said was “airpoo” as I looked up in the sky and pointed at a passing airplane. I can’t ever remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated by anything that flew. I don’t know why – I seem to have been born with the interest. But I know that some of the things that kept me interested was seeing Whirlybirds and Sky King on TV. I built models that I bought with my small allowance. I was excited anytime I could get near an airplane- taking Dad to the local airport to catch a commercial flight, watching the floatplanes at the local dock that gave rides over Lake Bemidji. Most of the books I checked out from the library were about airplanes and flying – big books on WW II aircraft and the air war, stories of WW I fighters. I had Charles Lindbergh’s book on my bookshelf early on. My father wasn’t a pilot, but his job as an educator put him on a NASA mailing list where he received big thick reports (full of color pictures) of every manned space mission – and they came straight to me!
I flew U-control models because I couldn’t afford R/C, then got the opportunity to work on real airplanes in my early teens due to the kindness of an FBO and some of his leaseback pilots. But that wasn’t what got me interested – it KEPT me interested. I was interested because of some sort of spark set very early on. And it didn’t hurt that flying was seen as unique – it set me apart, made me special (because ALL aviators were special!), and since I wasn’t very good at sports, it gave me a niche. And…it didn’t hurt that I could read at a level well above my grade to understand those books on flying earlier than most. {Did anyone else ever have a copy of “Ann Can Fly!” in their house?}
So what got YOU interested? And how can you use that information to help get today’s kids interested? All the Young Eagle’s rides in the world won’t get them hooked if they aren’t interested – oh, they’ll take the ride…then go do something else. They need to get that spark first. How do we ignite it?
Paul
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