Airventure of the Future

[Floatsflyer]

I think today's youngsters will turn out just fine. And I think the lucky ones will still discover aviation.

Ron Wanttaja

First sentence: Absolutely! We are the parents of 2 of those "Millennials" as they are referred to. One is a freshly minted lawyer and the other is applying to law school. They turned out wonderful and we are so proud of them even though they can't get their collective heads out of their lap tops and iPhones long enough to come up for air.

Second sentence: Amen to that! We must ensure however, through organizations like EAA, COPA, and AOPA, that GA airports will still exist in sufficient numbers for those discoveries to be made.

[Byron J. Covey]

I think today's youngsters will turn out just fine. And I think the lucky ones will still discover aviation.

Ron Wanttaja

+1

[Mayhemxpc]

According to the numbers, 21,000 of them went through KidVenture, which shows a commitment to doing something with their hands, not just their thumbs! Then there were all of those CAP cadets (who did not have time to go through KidVenture), and Aviation Explorers. The number of kids who come to or EAA chapter Young Eagles Open Houses each month is also encouraging.

We can get them turned on to aviation is we are willing to reach out to them. The trick then is not to turn them off. Or shut them out.

[Dave Stadt]

According to the numbers, 21,000 of them went through KidVenture, which shows a commitment to doing something with their hands, not just their thumbs! Then there were all of those CAP cadets (who did not have time to go through KidVenture), and Aviation Explorers. The number of kids who come to or EAA chapter Young Eagles Open Houses each month is also encouraging.

We can get them turned on to aviation is we are willing to reach out to them. The trick then is not to turn them off. Or shut them out.

Spent 7 days at KV and did not see one kid spending time with a smartphone, Iphone, IPad or any other electronic device. On the other hand, other adults and I weren't as unattached from our electronic devices as were the kids.

[IanXBrown]

Ron is right. I'm not a biblical scholar but I'm told that there are references there to the youth of the day going to hell in a handbasket too. Maybe it's more a reflection of us old f***'s state of mind than it is of our youngsters. There were hordes of kids lining up to pull a blind rivet at the One Week Wonder activity, and they all left having realized that they too can build an aircraft. There would be an almost unlimited supply of young, enthusiastic pilots if it wasn't for one significant component - the money. Anything we can do to make flying less expensive and bureaucratic will encourage all future pilots, young and old.
Ian Brown

"In reality, every new generation faces this kind of scorn... and for the most part, it turns out to be unwarranted. A hundred years ago, grandfathers were complaining about how electricity made everyone lazy, and everyone spent their time jabbering on the telephone. Oh, and let's ban alcohol, too! A few millennia earlier, an old man was muttering into his mead, complaining about iron weapons ("Bronze was good enough for Agamemnon!") and all the idiotic maneuvering ("What's wrong with the phalanx, I ask you???").

I think today's youngsters will turn out just fine. And I think the lucky ones will still discover aviation.

Ron Wanttaja[/QUOTE]"

[Bill Greenwood]

I am no Biblical scholar, but I am pretty sure that in the Book of Job, the one being referred to there is not Steve of Apple.

[Larry Lyons]

Ron is right on. I can remember my uncles kidding me about taking care of them as they grew older. However, in reality two of those uncles were Marine's in the south pacific at all the now famous hotspots and they both took me aside to give me pointers as I got ready to deploy in the summer of 1967. They both knew what was coming and both had supreme confidence I would step up. God bless them. I believe we are still protected by some of the best and brightest and will be in to the future.

L

[deftone]

I seen so many kids, teens and young adults in the crowd (I include myself at 29), that I feel the future of aviation is secure. I feel those with a passion for aviation are different from those kids that are addicted to wifi and cell phones.