Tacoma Narrows’ Airport Day Inspires Next Generation of Aviators

FLYING Magazine

Do you remember the first time someone took you to the airport and you had a chance to get up close with a small airplane? I do.

I was 4 years old. It was a J-3 Cub owned by a man my father worked with. There was a celebration at the airport, and owners were allowing kids to get into the cockpits of their airplanes. The memory of that day surfaces for me every time I see a Piper Cub on display at an airport, such as the 1946 model on display at Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW) over the weekend as part of its annual Airport Day. 

Airport Days are not necessarily an airshow but more of an open house. They are usually free or low cost and put on by the airport sponsor and public agencies such as law enforcement.

Pierce County is the airport sponsor of KTIW in Gig Harbor, Washington, so county agencies had display booths and the sheriff had its airplanes on the ramp. The county fire department gave away kiddie-sized plastic fireman hats. There were information booths from aviation businesses, including schools, charter operators, and airlines.

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A few had age-appropriate games. The Plinko game at the Alaska Airlines booth earned a fair amount of attention from the younger visitors as did the putting game next door. Many pilots will tell you there is a link between golf and aviation, as both take a lot of time and money to master.

Pavco Flight Center, the mom-and-pop FBO where I did most of my early training, was handing out cookies and coffee and answering questions about pilot careers.

The ramp was filled with families, many with small children who walked up to the apron to look at vintage aircraft and cars. There’s something about painstakingly restored and well-cared machines on display that makes for family fun, and you can’t deny the link between cars and aircraft—someone with skill has to maintain them. That hobby in the garage or  hangar could turn into a career with the right guidance. 

The owners of the cars and aircraft stood by to answer questions about their machines. 

Stephen Baldwin, owner of a 1948 North American Ryan Navion L-17B, scored big points when he allowed children to climb into the cockpit. The Navion was used for reconnaissance and liaison missions after World War II then in the 1950s was turned over to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which later became NASA.

The airplane was used by NASA for research and zero-gravity tests in preparation for the Apollo space program. Astronaut Fred Haise, who would go on to be the Lunar Module pilot on the Apollo 13 mission, flew it as a civilian research pilot for the agency.

The Gig Harbor Vintage Aero Museum, which has both aircraft and ground vehicles, opened its hangars and had several of  its aircraft on the ramp for display. What makes it different from many other aviation museums in the country is that the majority of the aircraft are airworthy and have modern equipment skillfully hidden so they can be more safely flown in today’s airspace.

Among the classic birds pulled onto the ramp for display included a 1947 Aeronca L-16A and the ultra-rare 1930 Stearman 6L Cloudboy, wearing the livery of an Army trainer. 

One of the museum hangars was dedicated to the display of homebuilt aircraft. Here and there on the ramp people talked about what they were building, what they wanted to build, or  programs they were part of that helped teenagers learn to construct aircraft. 

A 1930s Ford with a canoe tied to the roof received a fair amount of attention as well. On the windshield there were stickers from many national parks. Keep in mind, when this car was being mass-produced, getting across the country was much more adventurous than it is now since the interstate highway system as we know it was still decades away.

Young Eagles

One of the best parts of Airport Day is often Young Eagles flights.

The program, created in 1992 by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), provides short rides in airplanes for children ages 8-17. According to the EAA, over 2.5 million youths have flown, with the 2.5 millionth milestone reached on July 22 during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

I am willing to bet that many of you reading this got your first taste of aviation through a Young Eagles flight, or you were the pilot during one.

The pilots who provide the flights are EAA members and volunteers. They are required to complete EAA’s Youth Protection Training and undergo a background check in addition to meeting currency requirements. Each pilot must carry personal liability insurance of at least $100,000 per seat. 

The ground team is also volunteers, as the Gig Harbor event was coordinated by Trish Williams from EAA Chapter 406. Williams, who has years of experience organizing Young Eagles events, was recognized by the EAA at July’s AirVenture for her exceptional hard work. 

Volunteers are nominated by their peers to be recognized for their efforts, and Williams definitely deserves the honor, as everyone I spoke with about Young Eagles told me I absolutely needed to talk to her. They are very proud of the fact she was recognized by the EAA for her outstanding commitment to their chapter.

“[For the past four years] Williams has facilitated over 1,000 Young Eagle flights, organizing three major rallies at her chapter each year in addition to numerous individual flights outside of the rallies.” the EAA said in a statement.

Volunteer pilots are pulled in from five local chapters, and according to George Steed, an accomplished pilot and technical counselor for EAA Chapter 406, Williams’ events run like clockwork.

“She schedules the different kids in waves so we don’t have 200 kids standing around waiting for something to do,” Steed said. “She’s got them scheduled in. She negotiated a [good] fuel price, so all the pilots are glad to come. We get a buck off a gallon on the gas, so …we feel good about that. She’s got plenty of ground troops marshaling. She’s got plenty of people working the table.” 

Steed added that Williams also takes care of the pilots, making sure they are fed and taking a break every so often.

“…Pilots, because this is a mission, we’ll just run flight after flight after flight,” he said. “But you [need to] have somebody to point at you and say, ‘All right…time for you to take a half hour. Go sit down.’”

When asked for tips on how to run a smooth Young Eagles event, Williams didn’t waiver on what must be done first.

“Preparation, preparation, preparation is always No. 1,” she said. “I’m blessed to have such great volunteers because they have passion for aviation the way I do… Just keeping everybody happy, letting them know we just want to get kids in the air and just to keep it simple, and make sure that the paperwork’s done right, the I’s are dotted, the T’s are crossed, so that we don’t lose our insurance, so we can keep doing this. Safety is always the No. 1 thing. We all love aviation. We love to have fun, and we want to show kids how to be safe aviators.”

To pilots and future pilots: If you have the opportunity to be a Young Eagles pilot, take it. There’s something incredibly fulfilling about sharing aviation with the next generation. 

The rewards can be surprising. When asked what the best part of the day was for him, Steed didn’t hesitate.

“When the quiet 9-year-old that hadn’t said a word the whole flight shook my hand and shyly said, ‘That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done,’” he said.

To student pilots: Once you get your pilot certificate, you can be on the other side of the Young Eagles equation. Don’t miss the chance to inspire a future aviator as you were inspired.

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