Eau Claire (WQOW) - Cloudy skies didn't stop people from getting a plane ride and a brief history lesson today, all for free. Several pilots and passengers shared their thoughts on the art of aviation. She has that story from the Chippewa Valley Airport.
Mike Pope, from Chippewa Falls who has been flying for 20 years, said, "You can see it's pretty nice up there. On a nice day like this, you can see 75-miles away. I think for most pilots, it's just therapy to get up there and fly for a while."
High beyond the stratosphere zip mechanical birds. Pope said, "We're at 2-thousand feet above the ground, and we're going at about 105-miles an hour."
The Experimental Aircraft Association put on its Annual Aviation Day and Young Eagles Rally Saturday to let young passengers get a peek out their window and to learn about aviation’s role in U.S. history.
Matt Hering, from Lake Hallie, said, "I felt excited because I never got to go into an airplane before."
Emily Bleick, patron, from Eau Claire, said, "I'm pretty nervous about it but I think it'll be really fun."
Doug Ward, a World War II veteran and pilot, said, "I was a belly gunner on the B-17. This is the ball turret that I rode in. And this was the way you were curled up with your two guns by each leg You'd be in that 7-8-9 hours, curled up in a ball like that."
Pope said, "The Royal Canadian Air Force used them as trainers in the 50's, 60's, 70's to train guys to fly a fighter plane...I've always been airplane crazy. So this is a dream come true for me. And I've always been a history buff, a World War II buff, and so this airplane kind of fits that bill."
Ward said, "These veterans my age, are dying everyday, by the numbers. And our stories are going untold. And these stories have to be preserved, because we were the greatest generation, as they call us."
Jon Pierce-ruhland, from Eau Claire who has been flying for four years, said, "You're literally not a mile within anybody if you're 5-thousand feet up. So it's just a great way to reset your mind, appreciate nature and travel too."
Jeff Skiles, a pilot for 38 years, said, "You know the wonderful thing about flying is that you can get up in the air, you can experience life from a different perspective."
Jeff Skiles was co-pilot on the flight that made an emergency landing 5 years ago in New York and became known as the miracle on the Hudson.
Story, photo and video: http://www.wqow.com
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