Small airplanes, big smiles

POLSON – Young Louis had never been in an airplane before.

Terrell had, but as soon as Chuck Jarecki’s Cessna 180 Skywagon left the Polson Airport’s runway, his eyes were glued out the window at the soggy ground below.

Saturday’s Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles program was one of four annual programs put on by the EAA each year in the Mission Valley for children like Louis and Terrell who otherwise may not by privy to the magic of aviation at such a tender age. The program tutors 150 to 200 local children about aviation – everything from safety to how to become an amateur pilot – each year.

The program, according to local EAA member Glenn Timm, is the future of small-aircraft aviation.

“With the exception of [EAA chapter president Joe Kuberka],” Timm said with a smile, “we’re all a bunch of old guys. We’ve got to keep this thing going.”

So the look of wonder in the eyes of children like Louis and Terrell as the 15-minute flight took Jarecki’s Cessna south to Kerr Dam and then back over Polson, around Finley Point and Rocky Point and back to the south shore’s single runway is a welcome sign to EAA members like Timm, Kuberka and Jarecki. The whole flight was a teaching moment for the youngsters, all the way back to the ground when Jarecki showed Louis, who said his ears hurt after landing, how to relieve that pressure.

Despite the inner-ear discomfort and overcast day, both youngsters gave an emphatic, “Yeah!” when Jarecki asked if they had enjoyed their short excursion. Both were excited to tell ground-borne family members about what they saw as well.

Chalk that up as a success for the Young Eagles program and Timm, who thought the day might be a washout when he’d arrived at Polson Airport Saturday.“I thought we might get rained out when I got here at 7 a.m.,” Timm said. “Luckily it cleared up for us.”