Sweet dreams and flying machines: Wings for Wishes raises $3,000

By JASON BLASCO 

Lake County Leader

Brian Buys was unexpectedly pushed into a leadership role when the founder, Eric Kendall, could not attend this year’s Remote Control Airplane show to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation because of personal reasons.

After receiving only a 45-minute tutorial, Buys didn’t miss a beat. He and several other volunteers were able to raise nearly $3,000, just $1,500 short of being able to grant a full wish to a family in the Make-A-Wish Foundation with this past weekend’s Wings For Wishes fundraiser held at the St. Ignatius Airport.

“We still pulled it off,” Buys said. “We aren’t going to be able to grant a full wish but we are going to be able to grant three quarters of a wish. A lot of people were very busy with their daughters in softball. There were people involved this year that had pregnancies and other personal difficulties.”

Buys and several other remote control airplane enthusiasts from states such as Idaho, Washington, and locally all banned together to fly planes and eat breakfast and lunch to share the passion of aviation for a good cause.

“This is a hobby and we are going to do this whether its for charity or not, so we might as well do this for a good cause,” Buys said. “We had pilots from all over the region come fly with us this weekend.”

Unexpected surprise

Buys and the rest of the aviation and remote control airplane enthusiasts were treated to an unexpected surprise when famous aerobatics pilot Jason Newberg showed up for the Wings-For-Wishes event to donate time and money to the cause.

Newberg, who has flown for 32 of his 47 years of life and is contracted by the government as an aerial firefighter, does aerobatic shows and has traveled all over the world because of his unique flight skills.

“We’ve just put something in my office to show all of the international places that I’ve been to across the world,” Newberg, a native of Dallas, said. “I’ve been across the United States and every corner of the lower 48 states. We’ve done airshows in Alaska and British Columbia. Doing an airshow in Alaska was a thrill because of the glacier and being 14,000 above the surface. It was just an incredible journey and one of my highlights to take in all that scenery up there.”

Newberg got his start in aviation because of his father’s background.

“Growing up, my father was an aviator even though he wasn’t commercial,” Newberg said. “He built a Pitts Special like this in the late 1960s and also a Volmer Amphibian. Those were the types of airplanes he was building when I was born. I spent a lot of time with him when my mom was looking after my younger brother, fixing and flying and everything that goes with it.”

Newberg, who personally donated $500 to the Wings-For-Wishes, said he was “happy” to be involved.

“I am just really happy to get together and put on this event,” Newberg said. “It’s a fun deal with the kids participating, sharing the knowledge with the next generation, and safely and properly flying radio controlled airplanes.”

Up to your tummy

Radio control flight instructor Manfred Schneider was on hand to not only partake in the Wings-For-Wishes but to also teach future generations of aviation enthusiasts.

Schneider, who has been instructing new fliers after starting in the hobby 14 years ago after collecting model trains, utilizes flight simulators to teach his pupils.

“I have a flight simulator that plays all of the airplanes,’ Schneider said. “There are hundreds of them to learn from. Kids and adults flying a beginning air plane on a program can really learn the mechanics of the program.”

Schneider said he has seen some quick learners in his time instructing.

“I remember a fella that came to the club with a beginning airplane in the box at 8 in the morning,” Schneider recalled. “By 9 that fella was flying and landed the airplane correctly.”

Schneider said the hobby is cheaper than cameras or collecting guns.

“The newer radios and electronics are so much better than they were 10 years ago,” Schneider said. “Most clubs will welcome anyone who is interested.”

Long time hobbyist Darrol Denny agreed with Schneider’s assessment.

“This is just a really neat deal that Eric puts on for the kids,” Denny said. “From what I’ve heard, they have expanded it so the whole family can take a vacation. It’s just a neat deal.”

Schneider said the Wings-For-Wishes event was “personal.”

“It’s personal for me because one of our friends lost a child and I have a soft heart for kids suffering with terminal things,” Schneider said. “People who are older or terminally ill don’t have a choice but to live their life out and know it’s going to be a short time.”