How much do you let your Young Eagles do?

[DaleB]

For those of you who fly Young Eagles, how much do you let them do?

This is my first year flying YE events, and I have only flown 8 kids so far- plus a couple of grandkids, nieces and nephews. Most have been younger, 8 to 14, but one was a high school student. I do the taxi and takeoff, climb out a couple thousand feet, and offer to let them fly for a while. I'll show them how to make turns and keep the nose more or less level and let them take it. If they're flying I usually have them get us back in the vicinity of the airport, then I fly the pattern and land. A couple have not wanted to take the controls... I don't push, if they just want to ride that's perfectly fine.

Just curious whether most of you let them do more or less than that.

[Byron J. Covey]

When our chapter had YE events, we agreed to all fly the same route and do the do the same things in flight. That way, when the YE's compared their experiences later, and they certainly do that, none would feel as if he didn't get the full experience. We did not allow them to take the controls.

When flying just a few, I did what you do.

Don't fly YEs any more.


BJC

[FlyingRon]

Unless we've got a big line, what I usually do is put the oldest or most interested kid in the right seat and let them steer for a while. Alternatively we try to find their house or school so they can see it from the air.

[TedK]

Don't fly YEs any more.

Nor do I, ..I just don't want to have any more Identity Theft issues.

But I still take kids on orientation flights with their parents permission.

ted

[DaleB]

I didn't have to provide any information to EAA or their dark minions that couldn't be gleaned from a phone book. I object to having to take a monumentally stupid web "training" course to satisfy some paranoid lawyer, but I don't object strongly enough to deprive either the kids or myself of the experience. To each his own, though.

And it's been great. I just think of how incredibly cool it would have been when I was a kid to have been allowed to actually take the controls of an airplane. I really think we'd have more pilots if more kids were exposed to aviation in some form other than watching airliners go overhead, or experiencing commercial airline travel -- if anything would scare you away from flying, that would. I hope when I get old enough that I have to hang it up for good, I can sell my plane to someone I gave a ride to when they were too young to drive -- then they can give kids rides too.

Ron, so far the kids have lived far enough away from the airport that we couldn't do a home flyover. That would be cool though.

[Byron J. Covey]

Nor do I, ..I just don't want to have any more Identity Theft issues.

But I still take kids on orientation flights with their parents permission.

ted

I "retired" from participating in YE rallies before the recent unpleasantness. I do, on rare occasion, take people, of any age, for a ride.


BJC

[Mayhemxpc]

Back on topic...
At a YE rally, we all fly the same pattern for the reasons described above, as well as for traffic deconfliction. (We fly out of the DC SFRA, which brings its own concerns.) Whether we let the front seater handle the controls is up to the pilot. Since I can seat up to three, I am concerned about the comfort of the rear seaters. With a full plane, I ask if they are comfortable taking the controls (some are not, others just want to take pictures.) If they do, then it is hold the airplane straight and level with some gentle banks. If they are alone, then - outside the airport traffic area -- I let them do as much as they are comfortable doing.

[cub builder]

Before this years debacle when I used to fly YE, it depended very much on the vibe and interest I got from the kids. Some kids only wanted to sit and enjoy the visual experience. While others viewed it as a carnival ride (which I found to be somewhat unrewarding). All got an opportunity to fly the plane. Those that showed an interest and/or aptitude got to do everything short of landing on the way back. Within limits, I left it up to the kids as to how hands on they wanted to be with the plane. I thought special needs kids were the most rewarding as they truly appreciated the gift of flight and were thrilled, often times beyond words, when they got on the controls and saw me remove my hands so they knew they were in command of an aircraft.

-Cub Builder

[Bill Greenwood]

I always let the Y E or other passenger fly. And they ALWAYS enjoy it. I have never had a single person who after landing said they regretted flying the plane. And I have done this is small simple gen aviation trainers, Cub, up through 400 knot fighters, incluiding gliders.

[Mark van Wyk]

I took the Youth Protection background check and training, and it was no big deal at all. I do not continue to stew over it. I have moved on. As for the kids, sometimes I will let them take the controls and turn the plane left, right, up and down, slightly. Feet off the pedals, and I'm ready to take over if any over-steering occurs. Other times, they are just along for the ride. I'm surprised at how many of the kids have flown YE before. They come back year after year. I like it when it's a newbie who has never flown before. At my annual event (San Martin Airport (E16) Open House), there is often a long line of kids along with parents waiting in the hot sun for a chance to go up. The early birds get the best service. The latecomers can get testy the longer the line gets. That's why I limited my flights to once around the pattern in my C-150. I was dismayed when a pushy mom put her kid back in line for another ride. The kid didn't think once around the pattern was enough, apparently. I refused to fly the kid for a second time. Too many other kids waiting.

[FlyingRon]

Well it kind of sucked because I was an early adopter and the EAA lied about what was going on. By the time they fixed the bugs in the system I got my approval. I still think it's killing the program for no benefit other than making the EAA itself (or perhaps their insurers) happier. Frankly, having seen EAA risk management roll into action at events at Oshkosh, I'm not particularly impressed.

[Bill Greenwood]

Ron, you have told us your opinion of the new Y E regs necessary for approval and your problems with it just as others have said.
O K but that wasnt the question of this topic, which was "How much do you let the Y E youth fly if you do a ride?"

[DaleB]

... and he did answer that question.

[FlyingRon]

Yes, I did if you bothered to read my FIRST post in the thread (message #3 in the thread).

[malexander]

I always offer the controls to the kids. Most will take them for a while, some won't.

[Cary]

I don't fly Young Eagles, but to be relevant to the thread, I do fly kids, and have all of my flying life. I always give them the opportunity to fly the airplane; most do, some don't. My rule: if you're at least 5 years old, you get to fly the airplane. The only one in years that was slightly troubling was a 13 year old boy who thought he was a super pilot because he'd spent time on MS Flight Simulator--he grabbed the yoke, gave it a shove, and scared the bejeebers out of himself! He wouldn't touch it from then on.

Here's my granddaughter on her 5th birthday.

5820

5821

Caylee is a natural. She can't see over the panel, but for more than half an hour, she flew around just looking out the side window.

There's nothing much more gratifying than having a kid really enjoy such a new experience, except when the kid says, "I want to do it again!"

Cary

[DaleB]

I have only had one so far try to over-control a little. I explain to them first that it only takes "gentle pressure", not moving the stick like a video game or something in a movie. They seem to get it pretty quickly. I always shadow them on the stick, partly because they're almost universally still thinking two-dimensionally. THey can bank, but holding pitch attitude or altitude isn't quit as natural for them.

[rauckit]

I try to always let the YE take the controls (400 kids, so far.) If they are hesitant I will reassure them that I won't let them make any dangerous mistakes and, if they still don't want to, I tell them to gently hold the controls so that they can feel what I am doing while I fly. I have had one get out before we took off and a couple that did not want to sit in the front, at all. Mostly they are pretty good at it when they get a little instruction and practice.

I started flying YE monthly when I was a new pilot and it was the best thing I could do to keep current and continue improving my skills.

Allyn

[lordryck]

Our chapter doesn't have set routes. We do have a 1 YE rule. We're more about the experience than racking up the numbers. In my experience, younger kids almost never can find their house. Older ones are better and if they live within a reasonable distance we'll go look for it. My fallback with all of them is to fly to an amusement park that's about 15 miles away that almost all of them have been to. On the flight there I fly and we talk about flying and what they're seeing. It takes most of them a little while to just stop being overwhelmed by the experience. After we turn by the park and head back I offer them the chance to fly. 90% of the take me up on it--especially when I remind them that I'm there and have no intention of letting them do anything stupid. A great trick I've found is that before I give them the controls I say "look" and take my hands off everything. "See, the plane isn't spiraling to the ground. You don't need an iron grip to keep the plane flying." Once I figured that one out it saved a lot of aggravation. The ones that can see over the panel I will have them fly us back to the airport by having them aim toward distant landmarks. If they want to try some turns I'm ok with that. The one's that can't see will fly either by looking at instruments (thank you Flight Simulator) or by looking out the side window. I just let them fly around and play with turning. They almost universally will climb. The ones taking us back to the airport (I see if they can find it too) I will let fly until we're on the 45 entry to the pattern. I've flown 120YEs and this works well for me. Our chapter, as I said, flies one kid at a time and most flights are about 20 minutes. All the pilots let the kids fly as far as I know.

[Bill Greenwood]

Cary , that is a wonderful picture! I would have thought maybe 7 but probably not 5 years old. However you have opened a box you cant close, she;ll be wanting her own car at about 10!
And how long before she can operate that GPS or whatever on your panel better than you can?

[martymayes]

Any time I'm on a recreational flight with passengers of any kind and there is dual controls, I take my place in the right seat. The left seat is available to whoever wants it. Sometimes the left seater will fly, sometimes no. Most of the time they will give it a shot. At any rate, there are always switches over there I have them turn on/off or levers to move which I've never had anyone refuse to do that. Of course, I may have to provide encouragement and motivation like "if you don't turn that switch on we are gonna die!"

I can almost always get someone interested enough about what's going on to get them engaged and participating.

[Larry Lyons]

I always let them fly if they want. A short story, I had my 4 year old grandson up for his second flight, he loves it. I asked if he wanted to fly, he said ok. He took over, sitting in his car seat by the way, still couldn't see out the front though. Anyway I had my hand on the controls all the time but after a bit he asked me if I would take over, I said sure I had it and he relaxed. He was sure he was flying and wouldn't stop until I said I had it. I had not heard him at first as he hadn't broke the squelch and didn't realize he wanted to quit.