By Lara FreemanMeadow Lake Airport in Peyton, Colo., is home to the Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 72. Founded in Wisconsin in 1953 by a few people interested in building their own aircraft, the EAA today boasts hundreds of chapters throughout the country. ìThe culture of the airport is to welcome guests,î said Dave Elliott, president of the Meadow Lake Airport Association. The EAA72 at Meadow Lake does just that. For example, there are weekly get-togethers. ìPilots get together with other pilots and talk about building airplanes,î Elliott said. ìIf you build your own, it’s experimental. It has to be airworthy, there are accepted techniques and methods, but it isn’t certified by the FAA.îThe EAA72 also offers a Young Eagles program, in which pilots from the chapter volunteer their time and airplanes to take kids ages 8 to 17 for rides at no charge. Afterward, there is a cookout. Sandy Martin, coordinator for the rallies, said she limits the openings to about 50 participants. Parents can register online at http://eaa72.org/youngeagles.html.Katelyn Hoskins, age 11, took advantage of the free ride Sept. 21. Hoskins’ mother had seen a post on Facebook a few months ago. Although her father is deployed, he was able to watch both her take-off and landing via Facetime. ìBeing able to see all the different things from such a high altitude was my favorite part,î Katelyn said.Grant Sedgwick, age 16, also participated. As a Young Eagle, this wasnít his first time in the air with the Meadow Lake pilots. He found out about the program when volunteers presented information on the Young Eagles at his school, Classical Academy. ìI got a Young Eagles flight, and I was hooked,î Sedgwick said. Sedgwick is also a student of the Aviation Education Foundation of Colorado, which provides educational aviation-related training and scholarships to young people in Colorado. Elliott said EAA72 members established AEFCO because they wanted to do more than give kids rides in planes. The foundation accepts about 25 students each school year.AEFCO also hosts a summer aviation camp, held in June. Sedgwick attended the camp, and said the students were exposed to several pilots in different career fields, such as astronauts, commercial and contract pilots. ìThe program is good for getting the kids into college programs,î Elliott said. ìThey score 96 to 98 percent on their FAA exams.î Sedgwick said he plans to attend either the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., or the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York, with hopes of becoming a pilot. ìI’ve always loved to fly,î he said. ìIt’s a different field, a different perspective. You get to be free in the air. It’s just really cool.î
