CAPTION: The roar of a C-130 Hercules drowned out all other sounds when it flew over the Chillicothe Municipal Airport during the annual EAA fly-in Saturday. The aircraft was flown by the Missouri Air National Guard in St. Joseph.

The annual breakfast fly-in hosted by Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter No. 944 at the Chillicothe Municipal Airport got off to a rainy start Saturday morning but it didn’t take long for the sky to be cleared of clouds and filled with airplanes. As in past years, the EAA chapter offered free airplane rides to children between 8 and 17 years of age as part of the national Young Eagles program. When the last plane landed, there had been a total of 142 children receiving flights. For most of those children, it was the first time they had flown.

“‘Awesome’ was the most common word for the day,” one pilot commented at the day’s end.
EAA’s primary goal is making aviation education and experience available to young people, which is why the group developed the Young Eagles program. This is a grass-roots program to turn dreams into reality, according to chapter spokesman Jim Summerville, of Chillicothe. “We are a grass-roots operation out here to try to make flying available to youngsters who are interested in aviation,” Summerville said. “We want to open our doors and say, ‘Come on out and fly.’ Hopefully, there will be people out there who want to take up flying.” In addition to the Young Eagles, there were about 50 other individuals both younger and older than the Young Eagles age range who made a monetary donation to fly.

Pilots flying the Young Eagles were Jim Summerville, Raymond Hamilton, Larry Warren, Bill Kieffer, Randy Stockwell, Doyle Leppin, Dyle Wilson, Don Bryan, and Pat O’Donnell. Helping with the day were Jerry Sturgess and William Singer, both pilots, who helped instruct the youth prior to their flights. “We had a great day,” Summerville said. “We were happy we could share our flying experience with so many people in Chillicothe.” This year’s fly-in was dedicated to past EAA chapter president Bob Unternaehrer. Bob presided over the EAA from 1998 until 2001. The Unternaehrer family suffered a great loss in May when their home burned. Bob is currently in Overland Park, Kan., undergoing physical therapy for his injuries.