Hopes to fly above Mansfield were high on Saturday morning as Chapter 148 of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) from Shelby hosted a Young Eagles Rally to encourage young children and adolescents to become interested and educated in aviation.
Pilots from the EAA, who were also members of the Mansfield Aviation Club, brought their personal planes to give the children free rides above Mansfield.
The EAA started in 1953 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Shortly after the formation of the group, chapters began sprouting all over the country. In 1961, men from Shelby decided to start their own and have flown in and around Richland County with their small airplanes ever since.
Virgil Phillips, of Shelby, is the chapter’s current president and has been for six years. However, flying his two planes has been on hold for the last five years. He still travels to Oshcosh, Wisconsin every year to spectate at the air show.
“I’ve been going to [the airshow] ever since 1976; I go to every single one. It’s a good time,” said Phillips. The thing he loves most about being in the group, however, is getting together with fellow pilots to talk and banter about pilotry.
Richard Green, the Young Eagles coordinator and longtime pilot was in charge on Saturday. He has only been a member of the EAA since the beginning of 2012, but his experience in the air boosted his credibility with running Young Eagles Rallies. Green estimated that his total flying time is over 10,000 hours in fly time.
Before retiring as commander of the 179th Airlift Wing, Green worked as a lobbyist in Washington D.C. for the National Guard Association of the United States.
Green flies for recreation and personal travel. “I recently flew to Chicago to visit some family and when I used to work in D.C. I would keep my plane in Virginia, so I would fly back and forth every once in a while,” he said. “Having a plane is fun. It’s like a little adventure every time you go fly somewhere and come back.”
On Saturday morning, he briefed the other pilots, warned them of the weather, and encouraged them to check their planes before take off.
“Safety is the most important thing today,” said Green.
Ultimately, the weather proved too windy for comfortable flying on Saturday morning. Green and another pilot flew with some of the children, but when they landed, they decided to not take the risk of more flights; it was too windy.
Eager children were disappointed, but hopes grew again when Green announced these rallies would still happen next spring and summer. During the last Young Eagles Rally on July 5 of this year, 109 children received free rides.
“There have been about 2,300 [free] flights for youngsters in Mansfield since we started. The youngsters are always excited about it and looking forward to it,” said Green. “My aviation career was good, now I can give back to move it forward in others’ lives,” he added.
Chapter 148 of the EAA will not host another Young Eagles Rally for the remainder of this year. According to Green, the weather is too unpredictable at this time of the year. The pilots promised to host another rally in the spring when the weather is clear.
For more information on the EAA and how to become a member, visit their website or Chapter 148 from Shelby’s website. The Young Eagles Rally was made possible by the Mansfield Lahm Airport.
