Children spend day learning about aviation

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Click here to enlarge this photo Greg Dohler⁄The Gazette Tayac Academy students (from left) Deja Smith, 10, Lawren Brewer, 10, and Latosha Freeman, 11, count down together as they watch a helicopter lift off at Potomac Airfield in Fort Washington on Thursday. Students from around the region toured various aircraft and saw aerial displays in honor of National Transportation Week. The event was sponsored by the FAA. Click here to enlarge this photo Volunteer Wayne Tomkins, 17, (right), of Fort Washington explains the controls of a Cesna 172 airplane to Ardmore Elementary student Darnell Dupar, 6, at Potomac Airfield in Fort Washington on Thursday. Students from around the region toured various aircraft and saw aerial displays in honor of National Transportation Week.

About 3,500 students showed up for the annual celebration of the National Transportation Week. The Federal Aviation Administration has been celebrating National Transportation Week at Potomac Airfield for 10 years. The celebration is a way to get students interested in careers in aviation.

Students from Rose valley Elementary School participated in the event and were excited about seeing the airplanes and helicopters. Chayla Lewis, a fifth grader, said she learned a lot of things she did not know about engines and how helicopters transport sick people.

‘‘It’s different than reading a book because when you see it in real life, it’s more realistic,” she said.

Anthony Wallace, a fifth grader at Rose Valley Elementary, said he was excited to see how helicopters and airplanes work.

‘‘I had a book with airplanes and helicopters but today I actually got to see them,” Wallace said.

He said the most interesting thing he saw was a jet engine in an airplane. He said it was interesting because ‘‘you wouldn’t think they could put a jet engine in a helicopter.”

William Broadwater is a retired FAA employee. Prior to working for the FAA, he was a Tuskegee Airmen, member of bomber squad. The group has a program known as the Tuskegee Airmen Youth in Aviation Program. The program takes 15-year olds and gets them interested in aviation.

Broadwater, a Marlton resident, said aviation is a field that has no limits because there is always something new.

‘‘With the Tuskegee Airmen part of our legacy is to motivate young minority kids to seek careers in aviation, particularly pilots,” He said.

Marcel Trott is a member of the program. The17-year old Charles H. Flowers High School senior has been flying for two years. He said he has always been interested in flying.

‘‘On the ground you’re limited, in the air its limitless,” Trott said.

He was accepted to the U.S Air Force Academy and Naval Academy Preparatory School. On July 12 he will start at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School. He will major in mechanical engineering and nuclear physics.

Wayne Tonkins, Jr, another young pilot agreed that the annual celebration is important.

‘‘Events like this help kids get interested in aviation,” he said.

The 17-year old Fort Washington resident said he attended an aviation career camp and has been ‘‘hooked on it ever since.” He said the training is extensive and can be difficult.

‘‘By the time you get to fly alone, you’re very confident and prepared,” Tonkins said.

He flies a Cessna 1976 single engine plane and usually goes to Hyde Field in Clinton. He said it is a liberating feeling flying in a plane and being able to go wherever you want and get there very fast.

‘‘It’s pretty cool being young and having a pilot’s license,” Tonkins said.

His father, Walter Tonkins, Sr., is a lawyer for the FAA. He said it is important to expose children to aviation because ‘‘this is our future workforce.”

‘‘You want them to see the aircraft and get excited. Aviation isn’t just about flying airplanes,” Walter Tonkins, Sr. said.

He said it was really a way for the FAA to do outreach in the community and partner with other offices.

E-mail Tia Carol Jones at tjones@gazette.net.