Aero-Linx!

Scouring the information super airways can sometimes be a tough, if educational, task for the Aero-News staff... but it also allows us to check out some truly neat and exciting sites, so it's not that bad a gig. On any given day, we may check dozens (and often hundreds) of different sources for story ideas, and facts confirmation. And, as is the nature of our business, much of this is done on the Internet.

The ANN gang decided we probably shouldn't keep some of the neat sites, info resources, and organizations we've discovered to ourselves... so we decided to bring you Aero-Linx. These are the sites that WE check out -- when we need added perspective, a new spin on a day's topic... or just want to escape into cyber-aero-space for awhile.

Look for some of our favorite sites, coming each day to ANN via Aero-Linx. Suggestions for future Aero-Linx segments are always welcome, as well.

Aero Linx: Youth Aviation Adventure Program (YAA)

In 1997, Steve Wathen and Dan Kiser founded the Youth Aviation Adventure Program (YAA) in Columbus, Ohio as a way to help Steve’s son and other scouts from their troop earn their Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badges. The two men enjoyed sharing their love of aviation with the boys so much they began recruiting scouts from other nearby troops and offering their Aviation Merit Badge program twice a year. As the program became more popular, Dan and Steve enlisted other pilots and aviation enthusiasts as volunteers to expand and upgrade the content of the program, and it has since expanded to include Girl Scouts, youth from other organizations, and anyone from the ages of 12-18 with an interest in aviation.

FMI: www.youthaviationadventure.org