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For the latest local Young Eagles information please click here to e-mail Tony Yacono
National Young Eagles Web Site: www.youngeagles.org
Our next Young
Eagles day is April 28, 2012 - Saturday between 9am and noon.
Thank you all for your help on November 12,
2011.
Thanks to all of you who participated. Many young people got to
experience the thrill of flight because of you.
WELCOME to our new pilot Joshua Waters. We hope that you will fly
many more Young Eagles Days with us.
Here are the numbers.
| YOUNG
EAGLES PILOTS - NOV.
2011 |
|
|
|
| Pilot |
# Eagles |
1st flight |
| Mike Teders |
14 |
4 |
| Dick Blondin |
18 |
9 |
| Jim Johnson |
13 |
9 |
| Linn Walters |
7 |
2 |
| Don White |
6 |
0 |
| Charlie Fleming |
10 |
6 |
| Scott Demasso |
13 |
11 |
| Mike Katz |
12 |
8 |
| Tony Yacono |
12 |
4 |
| Joshua Waters |
9 |
3 |
TOTALS |
114 |
56 |
|
|
|
Thanks again
Bobbi
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you all for your help on May 7, 2011.
Many thanks to all of you. We had another
successful, safe Young Eagles Day at Merritt Island Airport.
Thanks especially to Gary Whitmore, who stepped in to
match Eagles with pilots, and to his assistants, Gail Ganzer and John Brinkley.
Thanks, too, to Liz and Brynn Michaelman for ensuring
that the food was here for all the volunteers to eat.
Ok – here’s what you really want to know – the
numbers:
| Young Eagles |
|
5/7/2011 |
|
|
|
| PILOT |
#
flown |
1st
Flight |
| Ric Lasher |
5 |
2 |
| Dick Blondin |
16 |
5 |
| Jim Johnson |
12 |
3 |
| Mike Teders |
11 |
6 |
| Charlie
Fleming |
9 |
6 |
| Don White |
6 |
3 |
| Mike Katz |
11 |
9 |
| Don Smith |
14 |
9 |
| Al Voss |
5 |
2 |
| Tony Yacono |
9 |
5 |
| Ursula Davidson |
7 |
3 |
| Don McLendon |
5 |
2 |
| Scott Demasso |
15 |
7 |
| Linn Walters |
1 |
0 |
|
----------
126 |
62 |
Thank you all for you help on November 20,
2010.
Look at
Channel 13
for a photo and video that was taken on the Young Eagles
Day.
Thanks to those of you
who were able to help us today. These Rallies could not be
successful without ALL the volunteers like you.
I counted 28 volunteers on the ground, of which 15 were
Civil Air Patrol Cadets and 14
pilots. There also were several adult members of the CAP
who were
pressed into service, but I do not have an exact count. A total of 214
Young Eagles flew with us
today. This was a first flight for 144
of them. This was a GREAT day for all involved,
but especially for the Young Eagles. Thank you for all you do
for the Young Eagles Program.
Bobbi & Tony
| PILOT |
# FLOWN |
1ST FLIGHT |
|
|
|
| Bob Lehton |
10 |
9 |
| Charlie Fleming |
15 |
11 |
| Dick Blondin |
18 |
14 |
| Don Smith |
24 |
14 |
| Don White |
10 |
7 |
| Jim Johnson |
24 |
15 |
| Joy Felton |
6 |
1 |
| Justin Wesley |
5 |
2 |
| Linn Walters |
9 |
1 |
| Mike
Katz |
24 |
20 |
| Mike Teders |
15 |
10 |
| Ric Lasher |
6 |
4 |
| Tony Yacono |
21 |
16 |
| Scott Demasso |
27 |
20 |
--- Total --- |
214 |
144 |
Merritt Island
banner plane helping out get the word out early in the morning.
Tony conducts the pilot
meeting at 8:15am in the morning.
Lot's of activity in the
morning. Larry is matching the pilots to the Young
Eagles.
-------------------------------------------------------
Thank you all for your help on April 24,
2010.
Totals - 128 Eagles flown - 72 for the first
time These
were all local kids except for 2 who came from Orlando.
Thank you all for your help. This is a team
effort. Look at Channel 13 for the video that
was shot of Young Eagles Day.
A LITTLE
FRIENDS FIRST AIRPLANE RIDE
By Steve Pangborn
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Young
Eagles fly, Saturday,
May 16, 2009 from Merritt
Island
New Young Eagle flys
with former Young Eagle,
now a
commercial
pilot with Baer Air,
Justin Wesley,
October
15th.
2008
Tony Yacono
receiving his
EAA Chapter Coordinator Award,
August 2008
from Harrison Ford, Chairman of the
Young Eagles Program.
Great job Tony!
____________________________________________________
Young Eagles Pilot Reaches Milestone
Flys 500th Young Eagle
BY KING
QUILLEN
FOR FLORIDA TODAY
MERRITT ISLAND — Tony Yacono
(EAA#406740) was 12 when he first flew in an airplane. The
experience was so thrilling, he’s accumulated about 6,000 hours
flight time and he’s still flying at age 80.
 He’s also spending part of
his air time spreading the excitement of flight to local kids.
Yacono coordinates the Young Eagles program provided at Merritt
Island Airport by the Experimental Aircraft Association chapter
724.
“We’ve got to
introduce some of these youngsters to the field of aviation,” Yacono
said. “The thrill of flying youngsters is seeing them seeing
something they’ve never seen before.”
Thanks to the EAA members, more than 3,500
youths between ages 8 and 17 have seen new sights from the air. And
while 82 local EAA pilots have participated in the program, Yacono
has logged more flights than any, flying 504 youths.
“He loves doing it. He
would not give up being the coordinator,” said Bobbi Lasher, an EAA
pilot. “One time we had a Young Eagles Rally and for some reason he
couldn’t fly. It drove him nuts to be on the ground.”
Yacono acknowledges
he’d rather be in the sky, listening to the excited reactions of
first-time fliers, encouraging others who dream about flying
themselves.
Hunter
Limb, of Merritt Island, is one Young Eagle who has flown with
Yacono and gotten the aviation bug. His first flight came three
years ago when he was 12, the same age Yacono was when he first
flew.
“It is really
cool, a lot of fun,” said Hunter, who plans to become a pilot.
“Everyone should at least try it.”
The program wasn’t available when Yacono was
young, but his boss at a New Jersey concession stand also worked for
an airplane manufacturer and arranged a free flight.
Yacono still remembers
his elation as he and a pilot took off from a stretch of beach in a
red biplane.
“I bet
my fingerprints are still on the side of that airplane where I
grabbed it,” he said. “As a youngster, somebody got me interested in
aviation and that kept me going.”
In 1949, after Army service and years of
battling New Jersey winters, Yacono and his wife, Judy, moved to
Merritt Island. He worked for a company that owned multiple auto
dealerships and worked his way up to service director.
To his delight, the
job required him to fly between dealerships as he evaluated
operations. Retirement, when it finally came in 2005, didn’t mean
more rest or less flying time.
Yacono said he tries to fly his Mooney airplane
at least twice a week. He’s a member of the EAA and the Brevard
Aviation Association, chairman of the Merritt Island Airport safety
committee and a member of the Mooney Aircraft Owners advisory
board.
He’s also
president of Friends of Scouting, a nonprofit group that provides
financial support for local Scouts. And he plans to keep giving free
flights to youngsters who might never fly without the Young Eagles
program.
“Along the
way in all my years, a lot of people have helped me,” Yacono said.
“I feel like that I have to give something back. There are a lot of
youngsters out there who deserve more than their parents can afford.
I just like to help people.” Though he’s a leader in the local Young
Eagles effort, he won’t take much credit for the program’s
success.
“It takes
a lot of people for somebody like me to go up and fly 500 kids,” he
said. “A lot of people are involved in this thing, not just one
person.”
_________________________________________
> To the
pilots who make this program (Young Eagles) available:
> Thank you so much for
your time and expense to give the young people
> of Brevard such a wonderful opportunity to enjoy
the experience of
> flight. Our son took
advantage of this opportunity in the 1990's and
> we still have his certificate packed away with
other memories of his
> youth.
> I am certain that you did have in some way an
impact on his life.
> Today we lovingly refer
to our son the "taxi driver, mailman". He is
>
a commander of the C-2A greyhound attached to the USS Kitty Hawk in
> Atsugi Japan.
>
Again, thank you for this great program.
> Susan D.
> Port St.
John, FL
----- Original
Message -----
> Dear Mrs.
Lasher,
> When I sent
the email, I meant it for a note of encouragement. Your
> program is terrific and many times people don't
appreciate the time
> and expense involved in
providing such a wonderful opportunity.
> I could not believe my fortune in locating the
certificate so
> quickly after receiving your
email. Attached is a copy, given to
> Charlie,
December 12, 1992 (he was 11 years old). He flew in
> a Cessna-152 in Titusville. It appears the pilot
was Lawrence V J
> - ? (cannot make out the
last name). Also attached is a picture of
> him
in front of his "taxi". As a mother, I try not to think about
> him landing that big plane on the aircraft
carrier. However, I pray
> every day and know
he is in Jesus' hands.
> We are flying to Tokyo next month for his
wedding and I will be ever
> grateful for so
many wonderful people who have had an influence in
> his life. Many thanks to your exceptional
organization.
>
>
Sincerely,
> Susan D., Mother
> LT Charlie D., USN
________________________________________________
EAA Chapter 724 flew
109 Young Eagles from Merritt Island Airport
Saturday, November 17th 2007
Great publicity for Young Eagles from Florida Today
_____________________________________________________________
Young
Eagles flew October 22, 2005
from
Merritt Island
Here are the numbers from October 22, 2005
Total of 43 Young Eagles flown by 7
pilots.
Carl May 2
Don Runaas 3
(before being called in to work)
Tom Angell
4
Dick Todd 13
Pete
Mackenzie 4
Ric Lasher 4
Tony Yacono 13
Thanks to all and to Mike Tedders who directed
traffic all day.
Bobbi
__________________________________________________________________
212 Young Eagles flew February 19, 2005
at COI.
_____________________________________________________________
Thanks
for your help February 21, 2004 with Young Eagles flights.
17 of
today's young eagles were from the Florida Volunteer Search & Rescue
group from the US Marine Corps Reserve Cadet Corps
I'm sorry that more kids did not take advantage
of our offer.
Here's the tally:
Chuck Downing - 2 (without combat boots)
Don Runaas - 2
Greg Smith -
3
Jan Zysko - 5
Holly
Halenbeck - 5
Ric Lasher - 2
Rich Steidl - 2
Tony Yacono
- 6
for a total of 27
plus 2 each flown by Don and Chuck on 1/25/04
Thanks again. I'll let you
know when we start planning our next Young Eagles Rally.
Bobbi
02/21/04
Tony Yacono
and Bobbi Lasher with the Florida Volunteer Search & Rescue group
from the US Marine Corps Reserve Cadet Corps
From the left
Bobbi Lasher, Larry Olson and Greg Smith at the reception table
________________________________________________________
Young Eagles
Flown By Chapter 724 December 13, 2003
at Valiant Air Command, Space Coast Regional
Thanks to all of you for a good day.
We gave rides to 65 Young Eagles,
plus many of those had more than one ride. I did not see one unhappy
Eagle when they got out of the plane. You made their day and gave
them something to remember for a lifetime. We also flew one fish.  This was a stuffed fish,
named Henry. Henry is the
mascot of a local
school class. Each student in the class keeps Henry with
him or her for a week and then must write a
story about what Henry did
during the week.
I think this will be Henry's most exciting week of the
whole year!
I will have more details in the next couple of
days. I will also let you
know how much gas
was pumped - remember, everybody got some free gas.
Thanks again for you help. We made a lot of
kids happy.
Bobbi 12/13/03
Here is the story of
Henery's Young Eagle Flight. Logan and Henrys big weekend as
told by Logan. Henry came home in my backpack on Friday. When he got
there he met my Mom, Dad, Aaron, Sierra, and Alexander. My whole
family was happy to meet Henry. That night Mommy took us to look at
Christmas lights they were very pretty. When we got home it was time
to go to bed. She said if we were good there was a big surprise
tomorrow.
Saturday morning we woke up .We
ate breakfast and watched cartoons. Mommy told us all to hurry and
get dressed she was taking us somewhere fun. We did not know where
.We drove to an airport it was cool. A nice lady gave us stickers
even Henry. Then we walked through a big garage with all sorts of
airplanes. Mom said it was called a hanger. Then we seen some people
at a desk they were nice my big brother and sister got signed up for
a real airplane ride. I am only 4 so the Pilots told me I needed to
grow a little more. My sister told me she would take Henry. Henry
was a little nervous but I told him how fun it would be. He decided
to go. When he got back he told me that him and Sierra saw the river
and it was so long. They also saw the beaches and where the space
shuttle goes up. They saw cars and Houses Sierra said they were so
small like ants. I was so happy for Henry and My big brother and
sister. While I waited for them me and mommy took my little brother
Alex and looked around the museum it was great I loved all the
planes. Next year I hope Ican go in a plane. When we were done
Henry, Sierra, And Aaron got a certificate and their names in the
biggest book in the world. They also got a poster and a book about
flying. My brother reads it to me we are both going to be pilots
now. That night we went to the Titusville Christmas parade and got a
lot of candy. We told some people from England about flying they
thought that was neat. We found they flew here on a jet. After the
Parade we went home and fell asleep
The next
day was my little Brothers Birthday we decorated and had cake and
Ice cream. That night Mommy told me Henry had to go back to school
the next day. I was so excited for my class to read about Henry
flying and show them his certificate. Wow, what a weekend.
A Big Thank You, to all of you that helped with
this event and all the others.
Promotional Copy for the event:
The Valiant Air
Command (VAC) and EAA Chapter 724
will conduct a “Young Eagles” event to be held at the VAC’s museum at
the Space Coast Regional airport (Titusville) on the 13th of December
2003. The VAC museum’s address is 6600 Tico Rd, Titusville and is
located just south of State route 405 on the northeast side of the
airport on the perimeter road (Tico Rd).
Children between the ages of eight to seventeen
are eligible for an introductory flight in a general aviation aircraft.
The members of the EAA and the VAC will donate their time, aircraft and
fuel costs to introduce young people to the world of flight hoping to
encourage them to learn more about the fields of aviation and aerospace.
They must be accompanied by a parent of guardian to authorize the
flight. The young eagles and a parent/guardian will be admitted to the
VAC museum free of charge. Other family members or friends may attend
for the normal museum fees ($9.00 adults, $8.00 seniors or active
military).
Registration will start at 9:00 AM and end at
3:00 PM. The flight will be approximately 15 to 20 minutes. All flying
will terminate an hour prior to sunset.
A pancake breakfast will be available for a
small charge ($3.00) and consist of orange juice, pancakes, sausage, and
coffee .
Carol Ann Garratt, who recently completed a solo
flight around the world in her Mooney will fly some of the Young
Eagles.
Click here to visit the Valiant Air Command web
site
____________________________________________________________________
Chapter 1288 Young Eagles Day at
Valkaria, October 18, 2003
____________________________________________________________________
113 Young Eagles were
flown by 13 pilots at Valkaria Airport
on
September 20, 2003 by Chapter 1288, assisted by COI Chapter 724
and the Brevard Aviation Association.
Another
success!!!
13 pilots flew 113 Young Eagles on Sept
20 at Valkaria Airport. 80 of these
Eagles had
never flown in a small plane before. Thanks to all the pilots,
registration crew, meal providers, ground crew - we
couldn't have done it
without you. GREAT
JOB!
Here's the
final tally
Tom Angello 14
Tom Bauer 1
Dan Beard 4
Joe Blaha 4
Jim Daron 10
Richard Kane 15
Jeff Lammers
1
Bobbi Lasher 4
Russ
Minton 20
Greg Popp 3
Rich
Steidl 12
Linn Walters 5
Tony Yacono 18
See you on
October 18th, same time, same place.
Bobbi
09/20/03
Click on the picture above to enlarge
Click on the picture above to enlarge
Click
on the picture above to enlarge
Click
on the picture above to enlarge
Click
on the picture above to enlarge
Click on the picture above to enlarge
Click
on the picture above to enlarge
Click
on the picture above to enlarge
Click
on the picture above to enlarge
(Click
here to return to the Brevard Aviation Association web site)
217 Young Eagles were flown at Valkaria Airport
on July 19, 2003 by Chapter 1288, assisted by COI
Chapter 724
and the Brevard
Aviation Association.
Here are the final numbers:
17 pilots
217 Young Eagles
- 178 had never flown before.
Most were from the
Melbourne, Palm Bay area - 2 from Liverpool, NY
Here's the breakdown:
Tom Angello 10
Steve
Bedwell 9
Sam Collura 9
Jim Daron 7
Rick Dove 19
Chuck Downing 0 6
Don
Fritsma 23
Chuck Green 8
Holly Hallenbeck 0 12
Jeff
Lammers 6
Rick Lasher 0 5
Russ Minton 15
Vic Poor
30
Greg Popp 0 11
Bob
Whalen 9
Don White 0 21
Tony Yacono 0 17
TOTAL 145
72
Each pilot's total gets credited to the chapter
that he is a member of.
(same happens at Merritt
Island when we fly there.)
Bobbi (07-20-03)
____________________________________________
Dear
Catherine,
Please
extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all the Merritt Island
(EAA Chapter 724) and BAA people who participated in our YED Rally, July
19. We could not have done it without you!
Dr. Russ
Minton
EAA Chapter 1288
07-20-03
______________________________________
345 Young Eagles Flown June 14,
2003
at COI by EAA 724
Here
are the final numbers, 345 Young Eagles flown; 82 had flown before which
means we introduced 263 youngsters to aviation. JOB WELL DONE!!!!!
Click on photo to
enlarge
If you are ready to do it
all again, Young Eagles will be flying at Valkaria Airport on July 19th.
To volunteer, contact Russ Minton at
scalpel876@aol.com.
Again, a great big
THANKS to all of you for your help and enthusiasim.
Click on photo to
enlarge
YOUNG EAGLES PILOTS AND
# OF
Young Eagles flown
Tom
Angello 9
John Casey 33
Jim Daron 10
Chuck Downing
11
Wayne Eleazar 3
S.M.
Hallenbeck 15
Mike Katz 36
Ric Lasher 10
Oeter
MacKenzie 26
Jeff May 16
Russ Minton 20
Johnny Murphy
39
Vic Poor 27
Don
Runaas 13
Ron Shanz 4
Linn Walters 9
Don White 31
Tony Yacono 32
Bobbi
6/15/03
Click on photo to
enlarge
Click on photo to
enlarge
_________________________________________
A LITTLE FRIENDS FIRST AIRPLANE RIDE
By Steve Pangborn
A young, single mother that works as a server at
one of the local restaurants that some of the Arthur Dunn "bunch"
frequents had been asking me to take her little boy Buddy up for a Young
Eagle Flight for quite some time. Having to work all kinds of different
hours {usually late hours}, it was hard for us to coordinate our free time
to get Buddy his ride.
Finally, May 5th, a Sunday morning was to be his
big day. We were to meet at the airport at 8:00 a.m. I was as excited
about the flight as I imagined he would be. 8:00 a.m. came and went. 8:15,
ditto. I thought they weren't going to make it, so I wandered over to the
local gathering spot {Patti Patch's hangar} to have coffee. Finally,
around 8:45 a.m., they pulled up to the hangar. It had been another long
night and they had just gotten up.
Off we went to my hanger, to get this little guy
his first airplane ride. Excitedly, I opened his door and asked him if he
was ready to go…which he promptly told me "NO!" Well, his mother got
angry, because he had been asking for this day for at least three months.
As she started to really "come down" on him, I asked her to let me try and
see if I could change his mind. She said, "have fun".
After questioning him repeatedly as to why he
didn't want to go, he finally told me that he wasn't dressed to go flying.
I asked him what he meant by that, and he finally admitted to me that he
was embarrassed to go because he had his "jammies" on! This from a seven
year old! I smiled and told him that no one would know except he and
I….and Lily. He asked, "who's Lily?" I told him that's the name of my
airplane. His eyes got as big as saucers and said "mommy, his airplane's
name is Lily? She agreed that was the name. I told him to put his shoes
on, and I took him around to the other side of the airplane, and sure
enough there was "Lily" painted on the side. His comment was "cool".
Now that I had him out of the car, I asked if he
would at least like to look inside Lily, which he decided wouldn't hurt.
As I opened the door, he couldn't get close enough to see everything, so I
suggested he get inside for a better look-see.
Well now, the questions started…what's this,
what's that for…on and on. For 20 minutes we studied Lily's instrument
panel together and answered ALL his questions. By now, he was showing some
enthusiasm, so I asked him if he'd like to help me push Lily out of the
hangar, to which I received a vigorous nod "Yes!"
Out of the hangar she came, with Buddy pushing for
all his worth. I asked, "what do you think? Want to give it a try? He
thought for a second and said o.k.
So into the cockpit, I got him strapped securely
in, after putting him on a pillow to sit him "up in the world" a little
higher. I explained how I was going to hand prop Lily to get her started
and that it would get a little noisy until I could get a headset on
him.
Thankfully Lily cooperated and started on the
first blade. I got in, adjusted his headset, and started to taxi out to
the active, which in this case today, was our favorite…the grass runway.
All the while we were taxiing out the questions kept coming at a "machine
gun" pace, to which I carefully answered so he would feel comfortable with
the flight.
After explaining and performing the run up, we
were ready to go. I told him it would get noisier, but that the headset
would keep it down to a reasonable level. "All set?" to which he nodded
yes! So off we go, building speed. I was watching him out of the corner of
my eye, and his eyes kept getting bigger and bigger. We broke ground and
weren't anymore than ten feet in the air when he exclaimed, "This is the
COOLEST thing I've ever done!".
We flew around, showing him his house from the
air, where his mom works, and where he had a birthday party the week
before at Fox Lake Park. He got to feel the controls by flying Lily for a
while. Three times before we got back to Arthur Dunn, he wanted to know
when he could do this again? We stayed up for almost an hour….he didn't
want to come down{I know the feeling}. Sounds like I "hooked" another
one!
Taxiing back to the hangar, he said he was ready
to go again, right now! But mom had other plans, so I gave him a rain
check. Of course he had to help me push Lily back into the hangar before
we filled out his Young Eagle Certificate. He told his mother that they
just had to stop and buy a frame for his new certificate!
That "boys and girls" is what it's all about.
Relating the story to Neale Cranston one evening, he told me "when that
little boy is eighty years old, he will still remember the man that gave
him his first airplane ride!" I'd like to think that is true. How great to
be remembered in a positive way, don't you think? Psst…give a kid a
ride.
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