Kamren Curtis, 6, of Moses Lake, Wash., sits in the cockpit of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter Saturday at the Young Eagles event at the Hermiston airport.

By ERIN MILLS

For The Hermiston Herald

Kayleb Epperson’s first airplane ride was in a Cessna 172, a small four-seater piloted by Gregory Williams of Kennewick. As they took off from the Hermiston airport, Kayleb, 10, gazed down at the patchwork of circles and houses below.

“Those cows look like ants,” he said.

After he reached cruising altitude, Williams invited Kayleb to test the steering controls.

When Kayleb pushed on the stick, the airplane dipped down. When he pulled back, the nose of the plane swung upward.

“But we want to keep the horizon even with the artificial horizon on our dash,” Williams said.

With Kayleb at the helm, the plane curved toward the Columbia River. At McNary Dam, he turned left, flew over Hermiston and back toward the airport.

When the flight was over, Williams shook Kayleb’s hand and handed him a certificate.

“That was great,” Kayleb said with a big smile.

Kayleb, along with 221 other kids, became official Young Eagles Saturday at the annual Young Eagle event.

Area pilots donated their time and aircrafts to give free rides all day to children aged 8-17. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) developed the program in order to interest young people in aviation.

Most airplanes were small and accommodated two or three kids at a time.

Before their flight, Hermiston pilot Ron Osgood ran the kids through a pre-flight check, explaining the parts of a plane, the controls and safety precautions.

Each flight lasted about 25 minutes.

This was the second year for twins Nicole and Melissa Hood, 10.

“The best part is going over the dam,” Melissa said. “And taking off.”

“It was just as fun as it was last year,” Nicole added.

Peggy Martin, a new pilot who volunteered to escort the kids to and from the planes, said it was fun watching the kids be excited about aviation.

“They’re just, like, wow,” she said. “And I haven’t had any sick kids that I know of.”

The EAA coordinates the Young Eagles program at airports across the United States. To date, the program has provided free flights to more than a million kids.

But in Hermiston, the event wasn’t just about the flying. There was also a hay ride, a giant inflated castle for kids to jump in and refreshments served by Agape House.

The Hermiston Fire Department parked a fire truck for kids to tour.

And Erica Sandoval, Hermiston Police Department’s crime prevention officer, took the opportunity to teach kids about safety.

The next area Young Eagles event will be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 21 at the Richland, Wash., airport.