The Pilot’s Lounge #14:
Kids in Aviation – and Other Items of Interest

Autumn's colors are accompanied by cooler, cleaner air and more enjoyable flying all around. It's a great time to talk about paying your debt to aviation by introducing that kid at the airport fence to aviation the right way. AVweb's Rick Durden tells how. Plus, two aviators who shouldn't be forgotten.

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The Pilots LoungeIt’sbeen a very satisfying month in the Pilot’s Lounge. Summer is spooling down andthe temperatures are dropping, so our airplanes are actually starting to performon takeoff. Dave, tail wheel pilot, one of the Lounge regulars, and owner of aHusky, just passed his check ride for his instrument rating. Doing such a ratingin a tandem, tail wheel airplane takes a little more of “the rightstuff” than most of us have. It is something pretty rare ever since theUniversity of Illinois stopped using IFR-equipped Aeronca Champs, so Dave’saccomplishment has been the source of some conversation. Everyone here in theLounge is very pleased for Dave; me, especially. The fact that he is my brotherhas absolutely nothing to do with my objective evaluation of his performance asoutstanding. His instructor, Paul Berge, is no slouch, either. Paul had to useextra cushions and sometimes hang from the ceiling braces to see the panel overDave who is 6’5″ tall. Paul is also the new editor of the very fine IFRmagazine.

An Aviat HuskyThe examiner for Dave’s check ride, Lowell Weir, is a classic airman of somerepute in Iowa. He now flies jets, but has more tail wheel time than he probablywants to consider as a result of his many years of flying ag planes, down low,in the heat. He regularly used narrow, gravel roads as runways because they werenear the fields he was treating and ferry time was lost revenue. He knows tailwheel airplanes.

I’m told it was a little tough finding an examiner who had the experience togive a check ride in a tail wheel airplane. Fortunately, Lowell was available. Ialso think he kind of enjoyed giving a flight test in something a littledifferent.

Encouraging The Airport Kids

The airport kids have gone back to school so it’s a little easier to rent anairplane during the week than it was. However, the schedule is stacking up onevenings and weekends as those determined young pilots are taking advantage ofthe good fall weather to try and finish up their ratings. From the perspectiveof the Lounge we watch bright, determined men and women as young as 14 walk outand preflight airplanes carefully. Historically, and currently, any young adultat an airport between 14 and about 21 is called “kid.” Who are we tobuck tradition? We overhear their conversations with instructors. They impressus with their thoughtful questions. Some of us mutter about earrings in guy’sears and men wearing jeans in the jailhouse look to expose their underwear, butwe know the pressure to conform at that age and to wear the currently popular”uniform.” Okay. Yes, well, um, er, we have “depantsed” afew of the guys. I mean, what can you do? The target is just so tempting.

We do wonder how some of the women operate the rudders when wearing theagain-popular platform shoes. Once Doc Walt made a comment about it, but Barbraised an eyebrow slowly, turned, looked at Doc, then let her eyes work theirway down to his high-heeled, pointy-toed cowboy boots. She then lowered theeyebrow. The tone of what she didn’t say spoke volumes.

Over all, we’ve kept our mouths shut about the kids’ attire. More than a fewof the Lounge regulars learned to fly when they were in their teens and theywere the ones with the go-to-hell clothing styles and odd haircuts that theirelders felt signaled the-end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it.

You’re Never Too Young – Or Too Old – To Learn

A CFI and a student load up.We’ve tried to make the younger pilots as welcome as we know how here in theLounge, and it has paid huge dividends. We get the benefit of thought processesthat have not been dulled by repetition of practice and that ask challengingquestions of those with more flying time. We’ve had to hit the books to answersome of the questions, so we are learning along with the students. We’ve noticedthat treating a couple of the hotter-headed kids with respect caused them totone down some of their antics around airplanes. The experienced pilots who donot talk down to the younger pilots find they soon have interested audiences.Those experienced pilots also report that the give and take in the conversationsresults in them learning things as well, confirming that truly good pilots neverknow it all and can learn from even the least experienced pilot.

We’ve also learned something about money and determination from the kidslearning to fly today. Those of us with college-age offspring know full wellthat it is impossible for a kid today to pay tuition with a part-time job ascould be done 30 years ago. We know income increases at the bottom end of thejob scale stopped keeping up with tuition increases and the cost of learning tofly some time ago. Some of us worked minimum wage jobs to pay for flying timewhen we were teenagers. Simple economics means it’s more difficult now. Theairport kids here in the Lounge are flipping more burgers for more hours forthat hour of dual than we did. Yet they are out here and carefully spending thatmoney on every hour of flying time they can get.

What the kids are aiming for...What we have seen is that these kids are very, very bright and motivated.They decorate their school notebooks with drawings of airplanes as kids havedone for years. Their conversations among themselves are about sideslips andtakeoff performance and how to get some more flying time, just as it has beenfor kids of that age for years, even though their slang is different from thatwe are used to hearing. Their presence enriches the Lounge.

We’ve heard the rhetoric by the politicians who have decided one of thecurrent ways to get votes is to denigrate public schools. Yet, here in theLounge we are flying with those public school kids. In our considered opinionsthey are magnificent. (They also show how far out of touch the politicians are.)The kids now at the airports have come up in a culture that abhors risk. Aculture that encourages them to play simulations on computers instead of havingthe guts to go out and do the real thing. Their peers can’t understand why theywould do something so “dangerous” as flying. Yet they have thefortitude to consider those intense societal pressures and come to the airportanyway. We are very glad they are here.

We are lucky here at the Lounge, because I’ve seen airports where theregulars are nothing less than rude to visitors, teenagers in particular. Here,individual pilots see to it that kids are welcomed and encouraged. Airplaneowners are paying the kids to wash their airplanes, a time-honored tradition.Then they give the kids a ride and let them fly a bit.

Young Eagles logoSeveral pilots are involved in the EAA’s Young Eagles program and arefollowing up by giving the kids information on learning to fly rather than justproviding a ride, a picture and a goodbye. Some are making sure the oneslearning to fly and who don’t drive, have rides to the airport. A couple ofpilots here are in the AOPA pilot mentor program and have remarked that it is avery good way to encourage someone to complete a rating.

Don’t Fence Them Out

The fact that there is a fence around the airport bothers a lot of us. It hasmade it increasingly difficult for the boy or girl on the bicycle to ride out tothe airport and see airplanes up close and start that life-long attachment somany of us have. In our reaction to fears of terrorism, we have made many of ourgeneral aviation airports less warm, less welcome to those who want to fly butaren’t sure where to start. The folks who do make it in the door of the FBO toinquire have to be more determined and somewhat less shy than those who did so20 years ago.

How Do We Encourage The Kids?

When you started flying there was someone, somewhere along the line, whohelped you in some form. Aviation has been good to you. To put it as plainly aspossible, it is time for you to give something back to aviation. One of the bestways is to encourage those airport kids who think they want to fly. So, what canthe average pilot do to spread the word about flying? Be friendly to thosesometimes oddly-dressed kids who come to the airport. Show them an airplane.Answer questions. Direct them to an instructor who can set up an introductorylesson. Help them take positive steps toward that dream that drew them out inthe first place. After a kid takes a lesson, buy him or her a Coke and talkflying for a little bit. You can help keep the glow of a good lesson going orencourage them after a bad one. Every one of us had bad lessons after which weseriously considered quitting. Helping the kid keep perspective after a crummylesson may keep someone from giving up on what could be a life-long love.

Think a little about what you look like to the kid. Do you wear one of thosesilly one-piece jumpsuits, you know, the kind that emphasizes your beer gut,when you go out to fly a Cherokee? Does the jumpsuit have all sorts of patchesand pins and wings on it? Are you carrying a huge bag of “flyingstuff” and gadgets with you to the airplane? Do you realize how foolish youlook? Those outfits scream “dweeb.” The kids hear it. It’s always beenan axiom in aviation that the pilots with the least experience wear the mostaeronautical junk. Teenagers see right through it. A jumpsuit only looks cool ona military pilot who is under thirty years of age and in good shape. Rememberwhen Michael Dukakis was running for president and got a chance to drive an Armytank? He was a pencil-necked old guy wearing a helmet that only looks good on akid. The picture of him wearing a tanker helmet was hilarious and helped himlose that election. That’s what you in your flying get-up and headset look liketo kids coming out to seek adventure in the sky. Don’t throw cold water on theirideals by coming across as an old fart on a second childhood kick.

Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes set world’s records in airplanes and didn’twear funny outfits when they did so. You don’t see the airline pilots who ownairplanes putting on a costume to fly their Bonanzas.

If one of the kids around the airport admires your airplane, talk with him orher about it as mature, intelligent individuals. Then see about providing ashort ride. Yes, there is a liability risk. That’s why you carry insurance (makesure it does not have a $100,000 per person sublimit). The kids aren’t anydifferent than any other passengers who will probably sue you if you dosomething stupid and hurt them. If the kid is under 18, then it doesn’t hurt tomake sure his or her parents give permission. So, if you have insurance,seriously consider giving the ride. I guarantee both of you will learnsomething.

Giving A Ride To A Someone New To General Aviation

When you give the ride, keep in mind a few things. Short is very good. Tenminutes is about right. Don’t try to impress the kid with your daring-do. Theabsolutely dumbest thing you can do is to yank and bank, do stalls or someaerobatics when giving a ride to someone who hasn’t spent much time in generalaviation airplanes. It is absolutely certain that your passenger will not thinkyou are some kind of super pilot when you hotdog in the airplane. The person whofoolishly trusted you with his or her life will consider you an idiot. Themoment you scare the kid you almost guarantee he or she will not become a pilot.You also guarantee your passenger will speak ill about little airplanesforevermore. In fact, that person may wind up on the city council and be thevote that shuts down your favorite airport. Weirder things have happened. So,make the ride smooth, with shallow banks and gentle control inputs. Explainbriefly what you are going to do, why and what those new noises are. Point outthe kid’s house, let the kid fly the airplane a little, then come back and land.The idea is to whet the appetite, not force-feed your passenger.

When you provide a good, short ride, you will help seal the dream that gotthe kid out to the airport and increase the determination to become a pilot. Whoknows, you may discover that you have made a long-term friend.

If you know one of the kids learning to fly at your airport, talk with him orher. (But for crying out loud, don’t ever say the kid’s instructor is an idiot.)When you go to a flight breakfast, offer a seat to the kid. Buy his or herbreakfast. After all, he or she is saving every cent to fly. That explains theskinniness of the airport kids.
You didn’t come up in aviation all by yourself. Some folks helped and encouragedyou. It is time for you to return the favor to those who helped you. It is timefor you to pay your debt of honor to aviation. You do that by helping out thosedetermined young men and women out at the airport who want to learn to fly.

An Event To Attend

We do keep a bulletin board of sorts in the Lounge. Pilots post notes aboutupcoming events that may be of interest. I’ve hit some very pleasant flightbreakfasts because of something I saw on the board. Right now, there is anannouncement on the board that has several of us gearing up to either sharerides or buy cheap airline tickets to Washington, D.C. for a weekend on October22 and 23, 1999. It is the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth ofthe incredible airman, Bernt Balchen.

I wrote about Mr. Balchen several monthsago. Let’s put it as plainly aspossible: pilots flying airplanes designed and built from about 1938 to thepresent do not have to have the skill level nor the cunning and judgment ofthose who successfully flew in the first three and one-half decades of flight.If we are ever to decide who was the best pilot of the first century of flightit will probably boil down to Bernt Balchen, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindberghand a very few others. The men and women who flew some incredibly clumsy,poorly-handling, unreliable airplanes were the super-heroes of their times. Tothen use those airplanes in a scientific fashion to explore the harshestwilderness on the planet was to accomplish almost unimaginable feats.

Bernt Balchen was the first person to fly as pilot in command of an airplaneover both the South and North Poles. He hand-flew a Fokker Trimotor across theAtlantic for nearly 40 hours, on instruments, with Richard Byrd in the back andVFR-only pilot, Bert Acosta, in the left seat. He set up Bluie West Eight, onthe west coast of Greenland, before the U.S. was involved in World War II sothat we would have a refueling spot for ferrying airplanes to Europe. Hecreated, out of the few resources on hand, a polar rescue unit and actuallylanded a very large flying boat, a PBY, on the Greenland icecap, gear up, torescue downed American airmen. He then ran the secret airline between Britainand Sweden to help keep that neutral country from leaning too far toward theGermans. On the way to and from Sweden with diplomats, ball bearings and escapedprisoners of war, his airplanes also supplied the Norwegian underground in itsstruggle against the shockingly brutal Nazis. The aircrew that carried on someof the hairiest flying of the war was called the Carpetbaggers. A number of themwill be at the events of the October 22nd weekend. I want to meet them. I’mplanning to go and take my family. In the time between events we are going tospend a lot of time at the Air and Space Museum.

On top of all of that, Col. C.V. Glines has completed a new biography ofBernt Balchen. The Smithsonian Institution Press is releasing it in time for thecentennial program. It is possible to obtain an autographed copy.

Here are the details:

  • Friday evening, October 22 at 7:00 pm in the Cannon House Office Building, Caucus Room: a slide presentation and panel discussion on the life of Bernt Balchen with a number of commentators and Mrs. Bernt (Audrey) Balchen, followed by a reception. It is a free event.
  • Saturday, October 23 at 11:30 am: a graveside memorial service at Arlington National Cemetery. It is free of charge.
  • Saturday, October 23, at 6:30 pm at the Bethesda Naval Center Officers’ Club: Testimonial dinner. It is expected that many who served with Col. Balchen will be present. Reservations are required and cost is $35 per plate.
  • The cost to reserve an autographed copy of the book is $29.95.
  • Reservations need to be made by mail to: Carl Jacobsen, 1208 Jackson Avenue, Takoma Park, MD, 20912-7531. Please indicate the number of dinner reservations, enclosing payment by check made out to “Sons of Norway, Washington Lodge” and indicate choice(s) of London broil or Boneless Breast of Chicken. Please also indicate the number of books you wish to reserve and enclose payment for those as well. With your reservation be sure and give your name, address, daytime telephone number and email address.
  • The telephone number for questions is 301/445-2993.

I hope I see you there.

Frank Price

In the last month, we lost someone who worked very hard for sport aviation inthe U.S. It may be hard to believe right now, but in the ’50s and early ’60s thesport of aerobatics was not popular in the U.S. To a degree, those who engagedin it were looked down upon as not being serious pilots or unable to disciplinethemselves to the “rigors” of flying professionally. Few, if any,aerobatic airplanes were in production because there was little demand.

After serving as a glider pilot in World War II, Frank Price went into cropdusting in Texas then started flying air shows on the weekends in a Monocoupeand later, a Great Lakes. He was determined to attend the world internationalaerobatic championships, and did so in 1960 in Brataslava, Czechoslovakia. Heflew his Great Lakes to Idlewild (now JFK) where it was crated and shipped toEurope. Once assembled, he managed to get permission to fly through the IronCurtain to the meet. This was during the show trial of Francis Gary Powers, theU-2 pilot “shot down” by the Soviets. Americans who were in communistcountries were being jerked around out of general principles; consequently,Price was a little concerned about what might happen during his visit.

He was the only representative of the United States. He did not win. Helearned a tremendous amount and got to know the members of the internationalaviation organizations. He came away determined to make the U.S. competitive inthe international “akro” scene. To this ultimately successful end hespent a great deal of the rest of his life starting and supporting aerobaticorganizations and sport flying in general.

Frank Price was also one of the few Americans who got his hands on a BckerJungmeister and discovered its amazing abilities. This was the airplaneaerobatic pilots in the ’40s, ’50s and early ’60s lusted after for its lightcontrols and catlike agility. In Frank Price’s hands a Jungmeister could dodouble and triple snap rolls at frighteningly low levels. That he often startedand stopped them inverted only added to the amazement felt by those whounderstood what there were seeing. The combination of the Texan with the superbhands and an airplane that seemed to anticipate a pilot’s desires lead to somememorable performances.

Frank was in the first group of inductees into the Aerobatics Hall Of Fame atthe EAA Air Adventure Museum. Most appropriate. He will be missed.

See you next month.

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