{"id":24001,"date":"2019-08-16T12:02:20","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T16:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/?p=24001"},"modified":"2019-08-01T22:21:17","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T02:21:17","slug":"aviation-non-profit-idea-great-day-out-for-one-child-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philip.greenspun.com\/blog\/2019\/08\/16\/aviation-non-profit-idea-great-day-out-for-one-child-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Aviation Non-profit idea: Great day out for one child at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kids plus Aircraft plus Non-profit typically equals “ride factory.” The most familiar example of this is EAA Young Eagles<\/a>. Kids line up and are packed into aircraft as efficiently as possible and lofted up with some 100LL. Maybe it will be a wonderful 10-minute memory or perhaps the smarter children will say “JetBlue was so much better!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some local aviation enthusiasts take a different approach with Above the Clouds<\/a>. They pick some children and teens who could use a literal boost. Each child is welcomed by a big crowd, offered a delicious breakfast, and then escorted with a parent or other adult to an aircraft. The pilot meets and talks to the young person and they agree on a route to be flown, driven substantially by the child’s interests. After the flight, there is a gift bag with items picked to match the child’s passions and also a flight jacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did one of these earlier this summer with a Robinson R44<\/a> from East Coast Aero Club<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the flight:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It would be nice to see this kind of approach taken in more places. Maybe it would even warm up the hearts of the aircraft-haters in Santa Monica!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related:<\/p>\n\n\n\n