Young Eagle, returning kids

Hope someone has a solution. We fly YE just about each month year round. We fly 15 to 35 kids from a 5 county area.
One child is 9 and loves aviation. He is a great kid, however his mother shows up with him every month. Gets a "free" flight. She has gone so far as to "ask" that he sit in the co-pilot seat if there is more than one in the aircraft. He has his own logbook, headset etc. In a local newspaper in his hometown, about 1 1/2 hours away he is referred to as a pilot.
While we want to accommodate him and his mother we are getting a little upset with our generosity being taken advantage of. We feel we are not there to just give him a free flight once a month.
We don't want to dampen his enthusiasm but he is taking away from other kids.
Has any other chapter run into this. How did you handle the situation?

We are seeing the same type of thing and are having the same conversation. As yet no answers have been found. One thought was to track the kids in a spreadsheet and limit them to once or twice a year. One kid has been for 6 or 7 rides.

I think a factor is we don't emphasize the entire educational aspect enough. The Young Eagles events are about building the number of kids flown, such as making the 2,000,000 milestone. It turns rallies into an amusement park ride.

I'd like to have the volunteer resources to put the kids through a half hour class before taking the flight. Perhaps let the mother know that beginning the following month, announce a policy that first time riders get priority for the right front seat.

A few years ago some YE program contributors asked EAA about how the program was producing pilots. EAA came up with what I considered to be a pretty weak coorilation between pilots in the general population vs. those that took YE flights. There was nothing showing how many of those people would still become pilots if they didn't take a YE flight.

I would like to see some adjustments in the program to shift from quantity to quality, but that could affect the high visibility the program has built among the volunteers and donors.

Probably a dumb idea, but is there a way to perhaps ( and I realize he is very young) put the child to work as a volunteer where he 'earns' his flight. Explain to the mother that ye flights are for the uninitiated but we love his enthusiasm and sure could use his help. In exchange we will get him in a plane. It could be as menial as handing out water to the pilots. I would think it would be a good lesson in demonstrating that there are somethings you have to work for.
Rick

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Originally Posted by wyoranch

Probably a dumb idea, but is there a way to perhaps ( and I realize he is very young) put the child to work as a volunteer where he 'earns' his flight. Explain to the mother that ye flights are for the uninitiated but we love his enthusiasm and sure could use his help. In exchange we will get him in a plane. It could be as menial as handing out water to the pilots. I would think it would be a good lesson in demonstrating that there are somethings you have to work for.
Rick

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Great idea, not dumb at all.....

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Originally Posted by wyoranch

Probably a dumb idea, but is there a way to perhaps ( and I realize he is very young) put the child to work as a volunteer where he 'earns' his flight. Explain to the mother that ye flights are for the uninitiated but we love his enthusiasm and sure could use his help. In exchange we will get him in a plane. It could be as menial as handing out water to the pilots. I would think it would be a good lesson in demonstrating that there are somethings you have to work for.
Rick

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What Glenn said, this is a great solution that will either work or you'll never see the kid and his mother again. Either way, it's a win-win. I would add one further thing that the Mother be put to work as well. She will come to realize that pilots, airplanes and the price of fuel don't grow on trees.

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Originally Posted by PaulDow

I think a factor is we don't emphasize the entire educational aspect enough. The Young Eagles events are about building the number of kids flown, such as making the 2,000,000 milestone. It turns rallies into an amusement park ride.

I'd like to have the volunteer resources to put the kids through a half hour class before taking the flight. Perhaps let the mother know that beginning the following month, announce a policy that first time riders get priority for the right front seat.

A few years ago some YE program contributors asked EAA about how the program was producing pilots. EAA came up with what I considered to be a pretty weak coorilation between pilots in the general population vs. those that took YE flights. There was nothing showing how many of those people would still become pilots if they didn't take a YE flight.

I would like to see some adjustments in the program to shift from quantity to quality, but that could affect the high visibility the program has built among the volunteers and donors.

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I, we fully realize a minuscule number of kids will ever become pilots it does open the door for someone wanting to learn more. We fly a lot of kids in high school ROTC so we have no idea how many will go into one of the services. But what we are trying to do is introduce aviation and airports to the kids. They are our future and the future leaders of our city councils, state and federal legislatures. Maybe when that annoying neighbor who complains about the noise or the planes overhead these kids will protect our airports and right to fly. So sensitivity to aviation is what we are seeking. Additionally it can give a youngster that "light at the end of the tunnel" goal to work for.

Are you making an issue of something that is not really an issue? Are there so many repeat flyers that you are having problems flying all the children who show up? If not, I don't see a general issue.

That said, the question about the front seat is a different story. What I like to do is ask if any of the kids want the front seat (assuming there is not a W/B issue). If there is more than one, which is usual, then I have them pick a number from 1 to 10 that I have chosen on my fingers behind me. The closest to the number gets the front.

One Saturday last November my local chapter flew 170+ kids with about 6 aircraft (2 were 2 seaters). By the way, this chapter also holds a ground school for the kids first.

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Originally Posted by bookmaker

Are you making an issue of something that is not really an issue? Are there so many repeat flyers that you are having problems flying all the children who show up? If not, I don't see a general issue.

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Your statement to be honest seems to be a little condescending . While it may be true that you do not see a problem, it does not mean the problem does not exist for others. I and some of my fellow flyers have seen this to be a growing trend. We believe that Young Eagles flights are important and want to reach as many young people as possible. At the same time most of us do not have unlimited money or time to simply be giving airplane rides to the same kids time after time. Many of us want to make sure that we get the most bang for the buck so to speak out of the resources we have to give. I flew one youngster this year and when I went to give him his log book he and his father told me he already had seven of them.

Is that really the best use of the resources we have ????. Was this an isolated case ??? I do not know but I do think it is a reasonable conversation to have.

We have a number of return YEs, as coordinator I fly kids with no flight experience first then on to the others. I have two YEs that are "Certified Simulator Flight Instructors" who watch over the newbies on our PCs. We also have a student membership and once the YE joins we ask parents to contribute by making lunch for the group (we pay for the food). Others want to hang around and I'll put a broom or dust rag in their hand. Show me an airport without dust and I'll eat my hat. I think if the kids want to be around the hangar then doing things around the place or even some aircraft will grown the bonds to our chapter and aviation. There is always something to do around Chapter 14.

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Originally Posted by CAVU Mark

We have a number of return YEs, as coordinator I fly kids with no flight experience first then on to the others. I have two YEs that are "Certified Simulator Flight Instructors" who watch over the newbies on our PCs. We also have a student membership and once the YE joins we ask parents to contribute by making lunch for the group (we pay for the food). Others want to hang around and I'll put a broom or dust rag in their hand. Show me an airport without dust and I'll eat my hat. I think if the kids want to be around the hangar then doing things around the place or even some aircraft will grown the bonds to our chapter and aviation. There is always something to do around Chapter 14.

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That is exactly what my dumb idea was referring to.
Rick

Several good ideas have come from this forum. My chapter reminds the returning YE that these flights are for newcomers who must be flown first. After the newcomers have flown, if pilots are willing, they will fly with the returning YE again. In the meantime, we put the returning YE to work, too. Never ever would we cave to the returning YE or parent in demanding the co-pilot seat. That is really cheeky!

Excellent I totally agree. More on the educational aspect. It's needs to be about quality and quantity. Personalized attention to the older YE's who have a real desire for aviation. Maybe a questionnair before a kid makes a
second or third flight.

Just spent some time with Chapter 180, their policy is returning kids can fly if they bring a new kid with them. Seems to work well for them.