Diana
Final Approach
As in years past, I'm sharing some of the Young Eagles thank-you notes from the 60+ notes that the kids wrote us this year.
We take these sixth, seventh and eighth grade kids flying as a reward for completing the Mark Twain reading program, which includes reading twenty specific books a year. We do this in conjunction with the Young Eagles Program.
Attached are comments from two siblings of one of the kids I took this year. Their mother was so appreciate of what we have done for her kids over the years that she asked the older kids to write about what they thought about getting to go flying as a reward for reading all the books every year.
Here are a few comments from other thank-you notes from this year:
"Thank you so much for flying us on Thursday! I had a blast and learned things about an airplane that I never even heard of before! You have encouraged me to keep reading my Mark Twain's for next year just because you took your time out of your busy schedule for us kids. I don't know how we could ever repay you. Put me on next year's flying list! I would miss it for the world!
p.s. Good luck on your cross country flying trip. I hope it turns out successful for you!" (She was referring to my grass strip tour.
)
"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for taking me and Sydney flying with you. It was a LOT of fun! My absolute favorite part was flying by myself. I didn't think I could do it, but you showed me I could. So thank you for letting us go with you."
"Thank you for taking us flying. It was awesome. I think the town looks so funny from way up there. It was scary when you let Reed drive. Thank you for taking the wheel back shortly after that. See you next year hopefully.
p.s. Remember me, Reed and James have dibs on you next year."
"I loved seeing my house from up above and to think that this is what birds must see. I like how you explained everything to us, for instance how the plane works and what all the knobs and dials do. I thought it was very interesting and I would like to get my pilots license someday."
"This experience has encouraged me to continue reading although this is my last year at Middle School. The whole plane ride I was smiling. It was a lot of pleasure and again I thank you for taking us flying."
"I can't thank you enough for taking me flying. I get motion sickness easily and I am scared to death about heights but when I was up in the plane with you and Abbey I totally forgot all about it! I guess it's a mind over body thing.
My favorite part was when you let Abbey and I do the plane inspection. I thought it was so cool that you trusted Abbey to fly the plane all by herself."
"When I found out last year that we could go flying that made me want to read all the books even more. Some of the kids that go can't afford to do stuff like that so that encourages us a lot. I had a fantastic time riding with you. Next year I'm going to do it again then encourage my sisters, brothers, and my friends, so then there will be more people."
"Flying is the reason why I read my Mark Twins early. Riding in a plane, soaring in the sky is awesome."
"Flying is one of the major highlights of my year. This year was my last year to get to go flying. Just so you know, I am not going to stop reading!"
"When we were in the air I got a little nervous, especially when you let me drive. Then I calmed down and had a really good time. My favorite parts of the ride were everything! I am never going to forget this wonderful experience."
"I had an awesome time flying with you. I know it cost a lot of money for gas to take us flying and I wanted to thank you for that. I also know that people from out of town came to take our group, so I want to thank them for coming to Lamar."
"I found it so cool how you knew where all the cities were and how you could guess just about where the border was for Missouri and Kansas. You really must know your geography.
And it was also really cool how you knew where everything was from the air. You must fly a lot."
"I also enjoyed flying the plane and want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to fly. At first it felt like we were going to crash but I got the hang of it and soon it was no big deal."
"That was one of the most wonderful experiences of my young life. Plus I can't wait to start reading all the Mark Twains for next year. Knowing that I'll get to go up in a plane, I'll read ten times harder. I enjoyed our flight and the headphones made all of us laugh. You guys are awesome! Can't wait to see you all next year!
p.s. I think I might enjoy being a pilot if I can stop laughing at my voice in the headphones."
"One other thing I really enjoyed about going flying is the long time you allowed us to go flying. I thought it was really neat that you let us go that long because I know how much it cost for you guys to take us flying, so I really appreciate it very much and take the full value you give for us and the Mark Twain reading to keep going. You were very educational about all the things you told us about flying, and all the mechanics involved in it."
"I had a lot of fun as your copilot and the flight in general. The flying was great and you taught me things about an airplane I had no idea about."
"I just wanted to thank you soooo much for the flight. It was a blast! I had the time of my life and I am going to read next year's Mark Twains so that I can fly again with you! It was my first time flying in a small airplane ever and I loved it!"
"I'm really glad we had a long flight. It was cool seeing my house from above. My dad told me he saw us. I also liked seeing the school from above."
"You've truly inspired me to become a pilot. I think it's awesome knowing that we girls can do anything a guy can. Only better. For me, taking off was the best part. I loved how you're going up and just sitting there. I was screaming in my mind, "I'm gonna die!!" I changed my mind after awhile. Well, thanks again."
"It was tons of fun and a great experience. I know that I want to learn how to fly and maybe someday go solo."
"The headset was very cool, especially when I got to talk on it. The takeoff was a little scary but after we got settled it was fun. Also the landoff was pretty fun."
"I'm very thankful for the compassionate people like you that are willing to spend their valuable time and money to reward kids that work hard to read the Mark Twain book list."
"You inspired me to try to get my pilots license. My favorite part was when you allowed me to fly, thank you, it was so much fun! "
"Thank you so dearly for using your own gas money for the plane to fly me. I had a great time actually flying the plane all by myself! At first I was kind of nervous but afterwards I was so ecstatic that I got to do that.
My flying experience was so cool! I liked how I got to listen to you communicate with other planes. It was so fun making the plane go up and down and turn left and right. I thought it would be hard and you would have to press a lot of buttons. But I was wrong. It was so easy! I'm thinking about if I should become a pilot. It would take a lot of practice but be worth my time, hopefully.
It was a great reward for reading 20 books. "
These were really wonderful kids and we all had a blast.
We take these sixth, seventh and eighth grade kids flying as a reward for completing the Mark Twain reading program, which includes reading twenty specific books a year. We do this in conjunction with the Young Eagles Program.
Attached are comments from two siblings of one of the kids I took this year. Their mother was so appreciate of what we have done for her kids over the years that she asked the older kids to write about what they thought about getting to go flying as a reward for reading all the books every year.
Here are a few comments from other thank-you notes from this year:
"Thank you so much for flying us on Thursday! I had a blast and learned things about an airplane that I never even heard of before! You have encouraged me to keep reading my Mark Twain's for next year just because you took your time out of your busy schedule for us kids. I don't know how we could ever repay you. Put me on next year's flying list! I would miss it for the world!
p.s. Good luck on your cross country flying trip. I hope it turns out successful for you!" (She was referring to my grass strip tour.
)"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for taking me and Sydney flying with you. It was a LOT of fun! My absolute favorite part was flying by myself. I didn't think I could do it, but you showed me I could. So thank you for letting us go with you."
"Thank you for taking us flying. It was awesome. I think the town looks so funny from way up there. It was scary when you let Reed drive. Thank you for taking the wheel back shortly after that. See you next year hopefully.
p.s. Remember me, Reed and James have dibs on you next year."
"I loved seeing my house from up above and to think that this is what birds must see. I like how you explained everything to us, for instance how the plane works and what all the knobs and dials do. I thought it was very interesting and I would like to get my pilots license someday."
"This experience has encouraged me to continue reading although this is my last year at Middle School. The whole plane ride I was smiling. It was a lot of pleasure and again I thank you for taking us flying."
"I can't thank you enough for taking me flying. I get motion sickness easily and I am scared to death about heights but when I was up in the plane with you and Abbey I totally forgot all about it! I guess it's a mind over body thing.
My favorite part was when you let Abbey and I do the plane inspection. I thought it was so cool that you trusted Abbey to fly the plane all by herself."
"When I found out last year that we could go flying that made me want to read all the books even more. Some of the kids that go can't afford to do stuff like that so that encourages us a lot. I had a fantastic time riding with you. Next year I'm going to do it again then encourage my sisters, brothers, and my friends, so then there will be more people."
"Flying is the reason why I read my Mark Twins early. Riding in a plane, soaring in the sky is awesome."
"Flying is one of the major highlights of my year. This year was my last year to get to go flying. Just so you know, I am not going to stop reading!"
"When we were in the air I got a little nervous, especially when you let me drive. Then I calmed down and had a really good time. My favorite parts of the ride were everything! I am never going to forget this wonderful experience."
"I had an awesome time flying with you. I know it cost a lot of money for gas to take us flying and I wanted to thank you for that. I also know that people from out of town came to take our group, so I want to thank them for coming to Lamar."
"I found it so cool how you knew where all the cities were and how you could guess just about where the border was for Missouri and Kansas. You really must know your geography.
And it was also really cool how you knew where everything was from the air. You must fly a lot."
"I also enjoyed flying the plane and want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to fly. At first it felt like we were going to crash but I got the hang of it and soon it was no big deal."
"That was one of the most wonderful experiences of my young life. Plus I can't wait to start reading all the Mark Twains for next year. Knowing that I'll get to go up in a plane, I'll read ten times harder. I enjoyed our flight and the headphones made all of us laugh. You guys are awesome! Can't wait to see you all next year!
p.s. I think I might enjoy being a pilot if I can stop laughing at my voice in the headphones."
"One other thing I really enjoyed about going flying is the long time you allowed us to go flying. I thought it was really neat that you let us go that long because I know how much it cost for you guys to take us flying, so I really appreciate it very much and take the full value you give for us and the Mark Twain reading to keep going. You were very educational about all the things you told us about flying, and all the mechanics involved in it."
"I had a lot of fun as your copilot and the flight in general. The flying was great and you taught me things about an airplane I had no idea about."
"I just wanted to thank you soooo much for the flight. It was a blast! I had the time of my life and I am going to read next year's Mark Twains so that I can fly again with you! It was my first time flying in a small airplane ever and I loved it!"
"I'm really glad we had a long flight. It was cool seeing my house from above. My dad told me he saw us. I also liked seeing the school from above."
"You've truly inspired me to become a pilot. I think it's awesome knowing that we girls can do anything a guy can. Only better. For me, taking off was the best part. I loved how you're going up and just sitting there. I was screaming in my mind, "I'm gonna die!!" I changed my mind after awhile. Well, thanks again."
"It was tons of fun and a great experience. I know that I want to learn how to fly and maybe someday go solo."
"The headset was very cool, especially when I got to talk on it. The takeoff was a little scary but after we got settled it was fun. Also the landoff was pretty fun."
"I'm very thankful for the compassionate people like you that are willing to spend their valuable time and money to reward kids that work hard to read the Mark Twain book list."
"You inspired me to try to get my pilots license. My favorite part was when you allowed me to fly, thank you, it was so much fun! "
"Thank you so dearly for using your own gas money for the plane to fly me. I had a great time actually flying the plane all by myself! At first I was kind of nervous but afterwards I was so ecstatic that I got to do that.
My flying experience was so cool! I liked how I got to listen to you communicate with other planes. It was so fun making the plane go up and down and turn left and right. I thought it would be hard and you would have to press a lot of buttons. But I was wrong. It was so easy! I'm thinking about if I should become a pilot. It would take a lot of practice but be worth my time, hopefully.
It was a great reward for reading 20 books. "
These were really wonderful kids and we all had a blast.
