Danville Regional Airport held an Open House and Young Eagles Rally

Danville Regional Airport held an Open House and Young Eagles Rally for the public Saturday, October 30.

The event served as a great opportunity to improve awareness of airport activities, including Averett University’s Flight Center and the Civil Air Patrol. Children were exposed to the Danville Science Center exhibit and learned about the forces of flight.

In partnership with Averett University and the Young Eagles chapter EAA1114, free plane rides were provided for children ages 8-17. A total of 65 flights were completed with flight instructors throughout the day. It was the first experience for many to actually fly in an airplane.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to expose children to an activity that may change their lives and develop a career interest,” Danville Transportation Director Marc Adelman said. “It’s just incredible. You see all these kids being a little reluctant about going and then they come back and have smiles on their faces and they say it’s wonderful. This is potentially a life changing experience for a lot of these kids because it exposes them to something they love and find they want to pursue.”

Tours of the Averett Flight Center allowed staff to talk with the public about careers in aviation, the university’s program and their partnership with American Airlines. Students were also able to tour and look at aircraft and the flight center’s simulator.

The Civil Air Patrol introduced attendees to opportunities for cadets (ages 12-18) and senior members to train in air and ground missions like search and rescue. Aerial photography as well as cadet aerospace education and leadership training were among activities that the CAP introduced.

Tours of the airport’s operations advisory tower educated the public about the roles of the tower staff. Attendees learned about the staff’s responsibility of providing traffic advisories to pilots and educating them on other important operations information.

The Danville Science Center demonstrated various concepts of flight relating to lift, drag, thrust, and rocket and rotary wing design. Guests were able to construct and take their creations home to introduce others to the exciting world of aviation and aerospace engineering.

Overall, the Danville Airport Open House and Young Eagles Rally provided a unique opportunity to inform the community about the many careers available in aviation.