{"id":25183,"date":"2024-10-25T21:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-26T03:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/young-eagles-take-flight-at-cortez-airport\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T23:12:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:12:02","slug":"young-eagles-take-flight-at-cortez-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/young-eagles-take-flight-at-cortez-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Eagles take flight at Cortez airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Eddy
Eddy Lewis\u2019 1957 Piper Supercub at the Cortez Municipal Airport. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Cortez chapter of a youth flight program met at the Cortez Municipal Airport on Oct. 19.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re called the Young Eagles and it\u2019s a nationwide program through the Experimental Aircraft Association, which is made up of \u201ca community of passionate aviation enthusiasts,\u201d its website said.<\/p>\n

Young Eagles are kids aged eight to 17, and the goal of the program is to inspire youngsters to one day be involved in the world of aviation.<\/p>\n

\u201cEAA has been instrumental in opening the field to youths. They offer scholarships, trainings,\u201d said Nikki Marshall, the Cortez chapter secretary.<\/p>\n

In America there\u2019s a shortage of aviation workers, whether they be pilots, mechanics or otherwise, Marshall said. With kids getting interested young, perhaps they\u2019ll help meet this demand.<\/p>\n

To date, in all chapters combined for the 30 years it\u2019s been around, the program has been responsible for giving more than 2.3 million kids their first free, introductory flight, according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Cortez, the chapter has flown about 90 kids since it was revived in April 2022, said Cortez Municipal Airport Director Jeremy Patton, who was responsible for bringing the program back to life.<\/p>\n

Patton said Cortez had a chapter in the past, but it disbanded in 2011 or 2012 \u201cdue to inactivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cortez chapter number remains the same \u2013 1451 \u2013 but the added name Black Cat Aviation, which \u201ccomes from the U-2 Spy Plane Squadron, The Black Cats,\u201d is new, Patton said.<\/p>\n

Specifically, it pays tribute to \u201cThe Miracle at Cortez,\u201d which happened on Aug. 9, 1959.<\/p>\n

That night, around 11 p.m., a pilot was forced to land after his single-engine flamed out at 70,000 feet, Patton said.<\/p>\n

The Cortez airport was lit up, so he landed there; until then, the work that squadron did was top secret, Patton said.<\/p>\n

The Cortez chapter is up and running again with monthly meetings and 35 members after \u201cmany months of gathering volunteers,\u201d Patton said.<\/p>\n

And every so often, it has rallies \u2013 like the one Oct. 19 \u2013 where kids get to go flying.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite a thing to do for kids,\u201d said Jay Willmon as his 12-year-old son Brooks boarded a plane with pilot and volunteer Eddy Lewis.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been fired up all morning,\u201d Willmon said.<\/p>\n

\"Brooks
Brooks Willmon, 12, boarding Eddy Lewis\u2019 1957 Piper Supercub, with Lewis behind him. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He said Brooks had gone to a Young Eagles rally in Pagosa Springs a few weeks before, and had been looking for another one to attend.<\/p>\n

After searching the internet, Brooks came up with two upcoming rallies: One in Loving, Texas and the one in Cortez.<\/p>\n

As Farmington locals, this one made most sense, Willmon said.<\/p>\n

Brooks said he feels no fear when he flies and intends to be a pilot when he\u2019s older.<\/p>\n

When asked how the flight went with Lewis, Brooks replied, \u201cpretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the runway, Lewis showed off his bright-yellow 1957 Piper Supercub, a plane similar to what he\u2019d grown up flying in the Alaskan bush with his father.<\/p>\n

It has a fabric frame, something Lewis calls a \u201clost art.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a drum,\u201d Lewis said as he drummed it, for good measure.<\/p>\n

Marshall, the secretary, said they flew about 20 kids on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Three were brothers, from a family of five that attended the pancake breakfast rally in Cortez that day.<\/p>\n

Owen, his twin brother, Jacob, and his other brother, Aiden \u2013 who was at his first Young Eagles event \u2013 were all there, playing on the Western Slope\u2019s only certified flight simulator, eager to get up in a real plane.<\/p>\n

\"Owen,
Owen, Jacob and Aiden Paddock at the airport\u2019s flight simulator, the only of its kind on the Western Slope, with volunteer Chris Caciagli. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Owen Paddock, 11, said his favorite part of flying was landing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so involved,\u201d said Tammy Paddock, his mother. \u201cHe likes a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Owen plans to own a plane one day and is part of the Young Eagle\u2019s 586 Show Low chapter in Arizona.<\/p>\n

In a few years, when the boys are eligible, they hope to go to the EEA Air Academy, a camp in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they\u2019d get more hands-on flight experience with fellow \u201cyoung aviation enthusiasts,\u201d according to the website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Karl Spielman, the vice president of Cortez\u2019s chapter, said flying is heavy on physics, which in turn helps kids notice their physical surroundings with \u201cprecision, care and situational awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFlying is a rarefied activity,\u201d Spielman said.<\/p>\n

He pointed out how it\u2019s expensive, which is a major hurdle in getting going with it.<\/p>\n

The Young Eagles program is free, though, and it\u2019s helping mitigate those hurdles and get kids interested, involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been great for the community, as far as outreach and youth activities,\u201d Marshall said.<\/p>\n

And though the kids have to wait till they\u2019re 17 years old to get their private pilot license and 18 to get a commercial pilot license, the Young Eagles program is planting a seed early that might just grow into a realized passion.<\/p>\n

Once kids go on their first free flight, they\u2019re eligible for a free EEA Student Membership as well. Learn more at EAA.org\/FlightPlan<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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