From the Left Seat

Lisa and I are back in Sequim and we received such a great welcome back. Thank you.

Last month I talked about Young Eagle etiquette and best practices. We’re looking forward to our first Young Eagle rally of the year on May 21. I hope you will come and volunteer to help. The week following the Young Eagle rally, we host our first FLYING START program on May 28. It will be a busy day on May 28 with our monthly Gathering starting around 0930 followed by the meeting and pizza. After we clean up, it will be time to start the FLYING START program at 1300.

David Woodcock will lead the briefing which includes the joy of flying all things in general aviation: manufactured aircraft, experimental Homebuilt, ultralights, gliders, acrobatics, and balloons. At the conclusion of the briefing and discussions, each participant will be offered an Eagle Flight provided by our generous chapter pilots. The program is intended to be an informal mentoring program that helps expose adults to aviation and guides them toward whatever engagement fits in their lifestyle.

Flying Eagles is similar to Flying Young Eagles, such as asking if they have flown in small aircraft before, and why they are interested in flying. Describe your walk around and the control surfaces. Help them in the aircraft and explain the instruments and controls in a simple and concise way. Narrate your actions of starting, taxiing, and takeoff. Allow your eagle to be an active participant, as you feel comfortable. Describe traffic patterns and communication procedures.

After the flight, congratulate your Eagle and talk about the next steps and how EAA430 can help them. Tell them they get a complementary six month membership both to the national and local chapter and they receive the monthly magazine.

Helping the chapter pull off a successful FLYING START could be a life-changing event for someone and an opportunity to mentor a new aviator into the magic world of flying! I hope you take advantage of this opportunity. Ray