Young Eagles take to the skies June 9
Contributed by S.C. Archives & History
Foundation

George Esslinger with several of his Young Eagles.

George Esslinger welcomes mostly first- timers aboard his Cessna 172. He will take off on the 900th flight he's made to introduce Young Eagles to general aviation Saturday, June 9.

Young Eagles, the largest youth aviation program ever created, has introduced more than 1.3 million young people to flight, all free of charge. The Columbia chapter is responsible for more than 6,700 of those introductions.

Youth can go up for a short plane ride the second Saturday of every month. Special occasions, from birthdays to end of school or earned scouting badges, have been celebrated with Young Eagles flights.

Esslinger, a Lexington businessman, has been a volunteer pilot with the international program for more than a decade. He loves introducing young people to the joys of general aviation.

"Even though I served in the Air Force during the Korean Conflict, I didn't get my pilot's license until I was about the age commercial pilots are when they have to stop flying," Esslinger said. "I decided I might as well learn to fly after my son, who had been a Navy pilot, began flying commercially."

Following his discharge from the Navy, Esslinger's son came into the family roofing consulting business. "He arranged for the purchase of a plane and became my pilot, getting me to and from construction sites in state, and in neighboring states. I saw his point. I saved a lot of time by flying, then he decided to go with a commercial airline," Esslinger said. "I had this plane, so I found an instructor and learned to be my own pilot."

Saturday morning Esslinger and the other volunteer pilots will have their gas tanks filled, at their own expense, and their private planes ready to take off. "We take the kids on about a 20- minute tour of the area. We go up the Saluda River, staying out of the Columbia fly zone, and show them the zoo. We usually point the shopping centers out to the little girls," said Esslinger. "They almost always know already where they are."

If you would like to bring a young person out to Owens Field Saturday, June 9 to celebrate International Young Eagles Day, call 796-1892 for details.