FAIRMONT, W.Va. – In Fairmont children from the community had the opportunity to fly for free in different aircrafts at the Fairmont Muncipal-Frankman Field Airport.
This was a way of presenting the experimental Young Eagles program through the Aircraft Association.
This program was started in 1993 in order to give kids between the ages of 8 and 17 a free airplane ride and hopefully sparking their interest in aviation related careers.
Young Eagles Coordinator, Richard Judy, said this is a completely free day for members of the community, and pilots say they volunteer for this day to give many kids their first ride in an airplane.
“We have uh five airplanes here today, um all are um volunteers, all are volunteer pilots none of them are getting paid, in fact they are paying their own fuel, their own oil, their own expenses to help out today,” said Judy.
This is an event that happens in many counties throughout the state.
The next Young Eagle’s event will be held on June 23 at the local airport in Morgantown.