Rochester International Airport introduces youth to the world of aviation

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Rochester International Airport (RST) hosted more than 250 kids eager to get up in the sky with a Young Eagles Flight rally.

These free flights have been offered by the Experimental Aircraft Association throughout the country since 1992 as a chance to introduce youth to the world of aviation.

Kids ages eight to 17 follow alongside a volunteer pilot to learn all about flying a place. They go over information like preflight checklists, controls, instruments and how airplanes fly.

After a 15-to-20-minute flight above RST, each young eagle received a certificate and can register to be in the world’s largest logbook.

“You don’t get a lot of kids in aviation usually so exposing them young I think it’s really beneficial for the future,” certified flight instructor Kess Klouser said. “I was a young eagle, so my first flight was in a Young Eagles rally I didn’t realize it at the time, but it definitely made me- it sparked the interest for me in aviation and then a couple years later when I graduated high school I decided to go into aviation and now that’s my career.”

Young Eagle Flight rallies are held at airports multiple times a year. The next rally in our region will be Saturday October 14 in Forest City, Iowa. For more information, click here.

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