Young People Met WWII Fighter Pilot Jack Hallett

The Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 534 of Leesburg, Florida had a busy day offering some World War II aviation history lessons and flying 19 Young Eagles at the Leesburg International Airport in Leesburg, FL. on Saturday January 20, 2019.

First, they all got to meet Jack Hallett (pictured), a World War II fighter pilot, who is a member of the chapter and at the ripe old age of 98 can tell flying stories of that war like it happened yesterday. When he gets started, he has everybody on the edge of their chair. Jack had flown fighter aircraft in Europe, was shot down twice by enemy ground fire, flew cover during the Normandy invasion of France in 1944 and was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The next surprise was the visit of a 1942 restored Grumman Widgeon G-44, twin engine amphibian. This type of aircraft was used during WWII by all branches of the US. military but notably by the Navy and Coast Guard for enemy submarine patrols.

This plane belongs to Sean Reynolds, an airline pilot, who offered to fly his plane to Leesburg for show- and- tell. Just about all the kids, parents and chapter members had a chance to get up close and personal with his plane by climbing aboard.

Things got very busy inside the EAA Chapter 534 hangar at the airport as it filled up with eager young folks anxious to complete the paperwork necessary to take part in the Young Eagles flight program. Parents and guardians mingled with chapter members and asked questions about the program and wondered about all the aircraft construction projects seen in the hangar.

After the paperwork was completed each Young Eagle participant was introduced to their EAA pilot and escorted to the plane they would be flying. In many instances interested parents went out to the ramp with their children to take photos of their offspring next to the airplane. These pictures would become treasured visual remembrances to show family and friends.

Local EAA chapters across this country offer the Young Eagle flight program free of charge to young people ages 8 to 17. This is done through the auspices of EAA  national, which has successfully promoted this program for slightly over 25 years and has flown over two million kids. This is done to acquaint young people with the wonders of flight by giving them a free ride in a general aviation aircraft. It is hoped that this experience will plant a seed in their minds that will lead them to seek out aviation careers and their own private pilot licenses in the future.

The Young Eagles receive a log book and commemorative certificate of their flight signed by their EAA pilot. If they are interested, they will also receive access to a free online ground school course to help them pass a Federal Aviation Administration written exam necessary to become a private pilot. They will also be given one hour of dual flight instruction free at a flight school of their choice.

 On this day EAA Chapter 534 provided 8 fixed wing aircraft and volunteer pilots to fly this group of excited kids, many of whom actually got to fly the plane themselves under the watchful eye of their EAA pilot. There were also 12 chapter members available to take care of the paperwork, answer questions and keep things safe out on the ramp.

 
The next Young Eagles event at the Leesburg International airport will be on Saturday February 16, 2019 weather permitting.

(Images provided with EAA Chapter 534 news release by Ted Leubbers. Top: EAA Chapter 534 member and World War II Army Air Corps fighter pilot, Jack Hallett, gets a chance to fly in a jet fighter with a friend to celebrate his 95th birthday. Center: [L-R] Pilot and owner Sean Reynolds and EAA Chapter 534 member Frank McCutcheon. Bottom: Young Eagle Ashton Gebhardt and EAA Chapter 534 Pilot Steve Tilford. )

FMI: www.eaachapter534.org