Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- Dozens of children had their feet on the ground and their heads in the clouds Saturday morning when they learned the ups and downs of aviation.

The state Division of Forestry opened its hangar at Palmer Municipal Airport to aspiring pilots and curious minds. The young would-be aviators went from booth to booth learning everything from volunteerism to internal-combustion engines to flying through Rainy Pass.

Cassandra Matthews, a 12-year-old who goes to school at Wasilla Lake Christian School, said she didn't know what happened when she drove her plane into the ground.

"I didn't mean to," she said as she walked away from a flight simulator that featured all the gadgets available to real pilots as they fly over the Valley.

Sean Ruddy, a computer programmer with E-Terra in Anchorage, was there to help the young fliers stay out of virtual trouble.

The technology company is under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to develop the software that takes satellite images and turns them into real-life flying conditions from the safety of a chair.

The simulator is part of the Alaska Aviation Safety Project. It's been under way for the past five years with an estimated cost of $15,000. The console screens give a wrap-around feel for the virtual pilot. Children could fly over their homes if they wanted.

It was probably the most popular booth among many on the overcast and rainy day.

"You can fly Merrill Pass before you see it," said Ruddy, who's been working on the project for the past two years.

Eventually, DVDs will be available for anybody who has the software to handle the program.

While Rachael Davis, 12, was negotiating a turn into Rainy Pass, Ruddy pointed out what he called Recycle Canyon. "There's a bunch of aluminum down there."

But the Colony Middle School student in a ponytail made it safely through and out to open air, where she could see for miles.

"That was fun," she said, "controlling the plane. I saw other people crash."

Not bad work for a girl who's never been in an airplane. "Never. Ever," she said.

Not far away, Jeff Banks was explaining probably the most basic vehicle in the air -- a sailplane.

He walked the children around a Russian-made glider, explaining how the rudder works to stabilize the plane and the dive brakes that are unique to gliders. He pointed to what looked like a red string near the cockpit that tells the pilot where he or she is in relation to the ground.

But this sailplane had something different -- an engine.

Most gliders, he said, are pulled into the sky by an engine-powered tow plane. His self-launched sailplane takes off on its own, and when Banks reaches altitude, he turns off the engine and the propeller spins to an eventual stop.

Then it sinks into the fuselage and is covered by panels that keep the aircraft aerodynamic.

The glider's wingspan is about 38 feet, a parakeet compared to the C-17 that flew out to Palmer from Elmendorf Air Force Base. With its 170-foot wingspan and 160,000 pounds of thrust, it could lift a small home inside its 85-foot-long cargo compartment.

For Rachael Davis, though, it was just fun flying an airplane even though she's never been in one. Ever.

Find T.C. Mitchell online at adn.com/contact/tcmitchell or call 352-6716.

ADVERTISEMENT