Sparsely, Sage and Timely
Two Young Eagles
Two 11-year-old girls from West Marin School last Sunday had airborne thrills they may never forget. Riding in a small, single-propeller-driven aircraft with only two seats (one behind the other under a bubble canopy), the girls looked as if they were in a World War II fighter plane. Especially after they reached altitude and took a barrel roll before heading off to San Francisco.
At the stick was private pilot Phil Smith of Novato. The 11 year olds, who happen to have been born on the same day, March 16, were taking part in a worldwide Young Eagles program. Needing just half an hour per flight (albeit traveling at 200 mph), Smith flew them one at a time over San Francisco Bay to the city itself, out to sea over the Golden Gate, up the West Marin coast above Muir Beach, Bolinas Lagoon, and Point Reyes Station. And then back to Gnoss Field in Novato.
One girl was Ana Gonzalez, daughter of Sue and Anastacio Gonzalez of Point Reyes Station. Sue teaches at the school while Anastacio handles its technical maintenance. The second girl, who has been living in the Gonzalez home for the past month, was my stepdaughter Shaili Zappa from Guatemala.
In front of each girl in the cockpit of the airplane was a second stick that could also steer the plane, and Shaili was delighted by Smith’s indulgence "when I did the roll." Smith, she told me afterward, had let her start the plane on its barrel roll of 360 degrees while traveling straight ahead.
After her flight, Ana revealed she had expected to scream (as on a roller coaster ride) during her barrel roll. The roll, however, was so smooth that even when she was upside down, it was "fun" and "not scary," she said. "I didn’t scream."
Having been a private pilot for several years, Smith three years ago went to an aircraft plant in Texas, and working with a professional builder he assembled his RV-8. What gives the RV-8 a slightly fighter-plane appearance are, along with its bubble canopy, a tail wheel that drags on the tarmac while taxiing and wings mounted below the fuselage. Although its undersides are white, the plane is mostly dark blue, and Smith has whimsically painted vaguely military markings just below the cockpit and on the wings.
By now, he has taken more than 50 youths aged eight to 17 on Young Eagles flights at no charge to them. The association was started in 1953 and several years ago set itself a goal of taking a million youths aloft before the 100th birthday of aviation last year. The association succeeded and has kept the program going.
After their flights, Smith presented Ana and Shaili with formal certificates from the Young Eagles. I filled out registration forms for them, so the girls "will be entered into The World’s Largest Logbook."
"My favorite part," Ana said after her flight, "was when we were going over San Francisco and Alcatraz." Smith and each girl wore headsets during the flights to block out engine noise and to let them speak back and forth through microphones and earphones. Shaili said that during the flight, Smith told her that "when he was growing up, he was afraid of heights." Shaili, in turn, told Smith about her older sister Anika, 17, "and how she wanted to join the airforce."
Sunday was the first time that either girl had flown in a small plane. While she was up in the air, did Smith make her feel at ease? "He’s good," came Ana’s immediate reply. "He pointed out Muir Beach, and I saw Muir Woods. I went over the ocean, and then we went over Bolinas Lagoon." What was Stinson Beach like when she was in the air? "Different than on the ground," Ana said.
While flying over Point Reyes Station, Ana recognized her own house. How did she know it was hers? "I saw my dad’s truck," she replied.
As for Shaili: "My favorite part was when we saw the skyscrapers in San Francisco. We flew over San Francisco, Alcatraz, San Rafael, Point Reyes Station. I saw The Light. I saw Ana’s house. I saw the Grandi Building, the school, and the Palace [Market]."
The only time either girl felt at all airsick occurred when Shaili deliberately tried to. Smith, in fact, gave her a warning but let her try. Gesturing with her hands barely apart to show what small distances she was talking about, Shaili said, "When I grabbed the stick forward and backward [a couple of times], it made me feel queasy...But he told me first." In any case, she felt fine in a minute or so.
"Taking off, it was like a normal airplane," Shaili told me. "I helped him with landing. I drove it [until] just before the ground."
In times past, I’d had several conversations with Smith over the phone, but Sunday was the first time we met in person. On previous occasions, I was in the role of editor of The Point Reyes Light and he was in the role of chief of Environmental Health Services for the County of Marin.
During a happenstance email exchange having nothing to do with news (or my septic system), I mentioned that my stepdaughter was visiting from Guatemala. He replied that a teenaged girl from Mexico had become a member of his household. One thing led to another, and he offered to take Shaili flying. I asked if Ana could come along, and he said sure.
Afterward, as I drove the two 11 year olds home from Novato, it was obvious that their thoughts were still soaring. Other youths interested in taking Young Eagles flights can call 877 806-8902 toll-free and be referred to a pilot who’s available.
A footnote to all this: the original chairman of the million-flight program was test pilot Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier and a hero of The Right Stuff. He eventually turned over the chairmanship to actor Harrison Ford, himself a Young Eagles pilot and a hero of Indiana Jones and Star Wars.