Yesterday, the Red-Tailed Hawks Flying Club, BPA, hosted the first ever Sam Bruce Aviation Experience at Pearson Field (VUO), Vancouver, WA. Along with our Presenting Sponsor, Sam Bruce Chapter, TAI, and NESSP partner Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum we introduced 19 students from the Portland, OR area to the world of aviation.
Karen Robinson, SBC President, began the learning with the Tuskegee Airmen Story. Jesse Hayes, SBC Youth Programs Coordinator, encouraged the students to have a “Red-Tail Mentality” – work together, strive to be the best, and fight the right fight.
Jesse Hayes went on to discuss “The Wonder of Flight” as he equipped them with a little pilot knowledge and an overview of aerospace engineering. He was followed by the Paul Gelinas, President Evergreen Board of Directors, and his wife Lynn introduced the students to opportunities offered by the museum and blessed them with helicopter modeling kits. The student worked to build the models just prior to lunch.
After lunch, the students flew with the Red-Tailed Hawks, pre-flight inspected a Bonanza and participated in a college/career discussion.
The day closed with exploring the Pearson Field Education Center, where they built and flew Styrofoam airplanes, flew tabletop simulators, saw a model display of the four airplanes the 99th Pursuit Squadron flew during WWII, and many other activities.
