Boeing 247 from the Museum of Flight

What a beautiful and sunny day to be hanging around a bunch of airplanes and aviation enthusiast. This Saturday I was able to spend a few hours at Paine Field for the General Aviation Day put on by the Washington Pilots Association and Snohomish County’s Paine Field.

Not only were there amazing historical aircraft, but people from all around flew their personal planes and also had them on display (I was sad I had to drive). Even though there were lots of impressive aircraft, seeing pilots donate their time and fuel to fly 8 to 17 year olds for free really put a smile to my face. The Young Eagles allows kids the chance to try out aviation and get the motivated to fly. Two rows of personal planes (ranging from Cessnas to Bonanzas) were lined up ferrying over 220 kids up into the blue sky. Every child coming off those planes had a smile from ear to ear. What a great program! If you have an airplane and want to share the experience of flight to children, join on up (If you have an airplane [or helicopter] and want to fly an almost 30yr old blogger, email me :)).

Unfortunately I had to leave after a few hours because of other engagements, but Liz Matzelle (@ImperfectSense) was there to take wonderful photos of the aircraft in flight [which is great, because Liz has a wonderful eye when it comes to photography and took better photos than I could have :)]

If you missed out this year, don’t worry, I am sure it will be back next year. It is definitely worth the drive and the free admission! Until then, if you are a pilot or have an interest in general aviation, looked at joining the Washington Pilots Association — they work hard to keep the spirit of general aviation alive in Washington state!

Fun Media For You:
* All my photos from the day’s events
* Amazing photos from Liz Matzelle
* General Aviation Day Photos 2010 from Bill Gardner
* General Aviation Day Photos 2009 from Bill Gardner