More than 70 wounded veterans and Coastians with disabilities learned the sky's the limit Saturday at Stennis International Airport.
Linwood Nooe started Operation PROP after realizing hand controls can help paraplegics fly airplanes.
"You can give them their life back," he said. Nooe hopes to eventually give the FAA-approved hand controls to flight schools.
"Flying is a passion," Nooe said. "To see the smiles on these folks' faces is incredible, and the pilots love it."
Operation PROP is free to anyone with disabilities, as well as wounded military.
Participating in Operation PROP for the first time was Atlanta skydiver Warren Cleary.
In 2011, Cleary suffered a spinal cord injury while participating in a skydiving competition in Colorado.
He said before his injury, he jumped out of planes every day.
"It was eight months after the accident" before he jumped again. "Not being able to do it was more detrimental," he said.
A wheelchair doesn't stop Cleary, who jumps out of planes on the weekends, saying, "It's just a hobby now."
Wearing a huge grin and giving thumbs up, veteran Jimmy Cook, 87, flew with Maryke Houben, a member of the Mississippi Ninety-Nines women pilots' organization. Cook is seeking treatment at the VA Blind Rehab Center in Biloxi.
All the pilots participating in Operation PROP donate their time and fuel to the cause.
Ground volunteer Natalie Guess with the Magnolia Business Alliance said, "It's definitely a feel-good project, seeing the kids and their faces light up."
Guess emphasized how great it is to "provide them a day where their disability is not on their mind."
While waiting to fly, participants played wheelchair basketball and softball and enjoyed a cookout in one of the hangars.
This was Stennis Airport's first year to host Operation PROP, but Nooe said the event will be back next year.
Story, photo gallery and video: http://www.sunherald.com
Giving two thumbs up, pilot Maryke Houben and military veteran Jimmy Cook, 87, prepare for take off from Stennis International Airport during Operation PROP on Saturday, May 17, 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment