"With this donation, the joy and wonder of flight will be passed on to
our youth, ensuring a place for them in the sky!"

That's funny, I thought kids or some people are naturally disposed to
the 'joy and wonder of flight...' You can't really 'pass it on' with a
museum in my opinion. Unless there are a lot of hands on things that
are somewhat dangerous most kids don't give a hoot.

I think a flight simulator that looks like an airplane, with a stick and
throttle and moving control surfaces, ought to capture the imagination of
the kids, don't you?

I would bet an endowment for a bunch of 'first flight' fuel purchases
and Young eagle volunteers would be a better way to keep a steady stream
of kids interested in flight.

Ah, now you're jumping ahead a couple of years. This will be the second
annual show, and we hope it will (1) raise public awareness of the airport,
and (2) raise money for an great aviation-related charity.

In future years, we would like to fund a flight training scholarship(s) for
worthy youth, among other things! THEN we will really be helping GA, IMHO.

It seems to me that today the airports and planes are just not as
accessible as they once were - due to cost, perception of danger,
security concerns, etc. Anything we can do to make it easier for kids
to hang around an airport and watch planes would be a great thing. I am
not necessarily against static displays in museums, but kids usually
want to 'do' stuff.

The Childrens Museum is located at our local (quite large) shopping mall,
and it is literally mobbed with kids from age 2 - 12 every day. THIS is the
place to capture their imagination, IMHO.

If we catch 'em there, we'll clean 'em and fry 'em later on out at the
airfield!

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"