This Sunday, five planes are touching down at the Luce County Airport in Newberry on a mission that has nothing to do with passengers, cargo, or destinations. They are coming to take kids flying. For free.
The pilots are volunteers from EAA Chapter 850, based out of Marquette, and they are bringing the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program to the eastern U.P. for a rally that is open to any young person between the ages of 8 and 17. Every kid who shows up gets a 20 to 30 minute flight over the local countryside, with views that could include Tahquamenon Falls and Pike Lake, depending on the route.
Pilot Greg Durand has been part of the program for years and has watched it change lives.
“The biggest thing behind it is it gives them an experience,” Durand said. “There are a lot of stories. You read them every day: It started out getting a Young Eagle flight with a family friend, then training. It was always in the back of their mind. Next thing you know, they’re in deep.”
That is exactly the point.
More Than Just the Cockpit
Bruce Finn, the Young Eagles coordinator for EAA Chapter 850, is quick to point out that a love of flying can lead somewhere even if a kid never becomes an airline pilot. He organizes the summer’s rallies and is enthusiastic about what aviation careers look like beyond the flight deck.
“We’re promoting aviation,” Finn said. “There is so much more to the career path of aviation than just being an airline pilot. That’s the most sexy, visible part, I suppose, but there’s a whole world beyond that.”
Planes need mechanics. Airports need air traffic control specialists. A modern aircraft’s computer systems need tech experts. The industry runs on people who work on the ground just as much as the ones who take off from it.
Luce County Airport Manager Glen Pittman knows that firsthand. He is not a pilot himself, though he happily accepts a flight whenever a visiting pilot offers. Pittman has spent years securing grants and improving the local airport, known to pilots by its call sign KERY. The field has a 4,300-foot asphalt runway and a grass runway nearly as long, and on a busy summer day sees four or five aircraft stop through.
“If you got up in the air, you might see [Lake] Superior, if you’re high enough,” he said.
A Spark That Sticks
Veteran pilot and former flight instructor Bill VanEffen was injured in a fall some years back and can no longer teach in the air, though he still flies on his own. He has seen the Young Eagles program do exactly what it promises to do.
“One of my favorite things to do, when I was flying regularly, was to take people for their first airplane ride,” VanEffen said. “That’s just a lot of fun. I’ve had people I’ve taken for their first airplane ride that have signed up for lessons and gotten a pilot’s license.”
Finn has watched the same thing happen again and again at rallies.
“Kids want to do it again and again and again,” he said. “We have some kids that come back 6-7 times. It’s funny to see them look down and see the cars and people. They just love it. That’s the inspiration. That’s the spark that starts it all.”
Here is what a Young Eagles flight looks like, from a rally elsewhere in the country:
How to Sign Up
Registration is free and done online in advance. Head to eaachapters.org and enter Newberry’s ZIP code, 49868, to find the rally and select an open time slot. You will need to provide basic information for each child or teen signing up.
The event accepts donations to help offset the cost of fuel, but no payment is required and none is expected.
“That’s not the intent,” Durand said of putting a price on a flight.
The intent is to show a U.P. kid what the world looks like from up above, and see if it sparks something that lasts a lifetime.
Recommended Reads
If your family loves getting out and experiencing the U.P., you might also enjoy our look at why Pictured Rocks was America’s very first National Lakeshore and the story behind America’s largest bear ranch, tucked into the woods north of Newberry. And if you have a young one who loves trains as much as planes, read about the U.P. family racing to save the 100-year-old Toonerville Trolley.
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