'Young Eagles' take to the skies

It was no ordinary Saturday morning for Granite Hills High School senior Jose Baca.

“I think I might be the most excited kid in Porterville right now,” he said, as the Cessna 182 he was strapped in to began rolling down the runway at the Porterville Municipal Airport.

Baca was one of more than 20 Porterville area students who got the chance to fly over their hometown Saturday morning in small, four-seater airplanes, inspiring many to express an interest in a career in general aviation.

Tule River Economic Development Corporation (TREDC) chief executive officer Dave Nenna, one of the event’s three volunteer pilots, said a child’s first flight frequently gives him or her a taste for an eventual job in the broad field of aeronautics.

“We want to let them know that there’s a lot more to aviation than being a pilot,” he said. “There are lots of other jobs — being able to fly is just icing on the cake.”

Still, most of the day’s passengers said their flight had inspired them to someday learn to pilot an aircraft themselves.

Strathmore pilot Jeff Hendrick also volunteered his time and his 1969 Cessna, as did airport manager John Longley, in a 1974 Piper Warrior.

“This is great,” Porterville resident Camellia Camarena said. “It’s something for parents to bring their kids to so they can have a new experience.”

Camarena took her 12-year-old daughter, Valerie, for a chance to take to the skies.

She said she thought Valerie would be interested flying in a small aircraft for the first time after she enjoyed viewing such aircraft at last year’s Eagle Mountain Airshow.

The Young Eagle flights, sponsored jointly by the City of Porterville, TREDC, Tule River Aero Industries, the Porterville Airport and the planning committee for the upcoming Eagle Mountain Airshow, were intended as a precursor to the aviation activities scheduled for this year’s airshow.

It will take place June 12.

Before anyone climbed inside one of the three planes perched on the runway, the students listened to a talk about another kind of aviation — a National Aeronautics and Space Administration program, conducted by Visalia resident Richard Manley — and learned about flight safety in ground school.

Eric Dodd, 10, took his first flight Saturday, skimming through the air at about 2,000 feet.

“I was a little nervous,” he said, “but it was pretty cool.”

His brother, 12-year-old Austin Dodd, said he wants to pilot his own plane someday.

Aaron Garcia, 13, who flew with the Dodd brothers, said last time he was on a plane he was so scared he “screamed the entire time.”

This time, however, he said it was a “great experience” to see all the buildings in Porterville from a new perspective — much more fun than driving, he added.

In the day’s final flight, Nenna cruised at about 500 feet below cloud level, explaining the occasional bump to Baca and another passenger, freshman A.J. Guerrero.

“When you’re low like this, you’ll get turbulence,” he said. “If we were up above the clouds, it would be like glass.”

The shadow of the Cessna could be seen distinctly as the plane banked right toward Terra Bella, and the usually imposing wind machines dotted the landscape like so many toothpicks.

“I can see my house,” Guerrero exclaimed, pointing toward the Tule River Reservation.

Seconds after the plane touched down, Baca jumped out of the passenger door and hugged Nenna in appreciation.

“We both want to be pilots now,” Baca told him, grinning.

--Contact Sarah de Crescenzo at 784-5000, Ext. 1045, or sdecrescenzo@portervillerecorder.com.