SOUTH SIOUX CITY -- Children once were a common sight at Martin Field.
Where else but at the airstrip just off U.S. Highway 20 west of South Sioux City could you get such an up-close look at airplanes landing and taking off? Owner Gene Martin said it was common for kids to ride their bikes out to the airport and plunk down the money they earned on their paper routes to take flying lessons.
Not so much anymore. Few kids, few adults, seem to be interested in learning how to fly and earn their pilot's license.
"We had at one time 12 trainers and all of them stayed busy. We have three now, and they're not very busy," Martin said.
For those who love to fly, the huge drop in the number of people either taking flying lessons or letting their pilot's license expire is a sad development.
They acknowledge it's a pricey undertaking -- it can cost a minimum of roughly $5,500 for lessons and ground school classes just to earn a license, not to mention the price of fuel and other expenses just to fly for the fun of it.
"Fuel costs more, everything costs more," Martin said.
But, pilots will tell you, it's worth it.
"The reason why most people enjoy it is the freedom. When you're up there you're more or less free to do and go wherever you want to go," said Rick Alter, president of Siouxland Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 291 and a licensed pilot since 1986.
Tom Morgan has been chasing that freedom for years. He decided while growing up between Moville and Correctionville and going up in neighbor Gene Barth's airplane a few times that he wanted to fly.
"I've had the bug ever since," Morgan said.
After 40 years of putting off lessons for various reasons, the Moville resident decided to finally chase his dream. He's been taking lessons for about a year and a half so that he can earn a license and be able to get off the ground whenever he wants.
"I never had a hobby. This is my hobby," he said. "This is my escape and what I'm going to do."
Sometimes, all it takes is that one flight. It's why many area pilots think nothing of taking someone for a ride. They want to share that feeling with others, get them hooked, too.
"If people come out and experience it a bit, it'll open up a whole new world to them," said Tom Fredricksen, a Sioux City pilot who teaches ground school classes at Martin Field every Wednesday evening.
That's why flying enthusiasts are doing everything they can to get people interested in taking to the skies with them.
The EAA will offer free flights for children age 7-17 through the Young Eagles flight program on June 13 at Martin Field. The group also pays for the first flying lesson and ground school costs for at least one person each year.
Alter said volunteers have restored a plane, which they will pull in parades in and around Sioux City all spring and summer.
"We'll have it for kids to get in and pretend they're a pilot and get their pictures taken," Alter said.
Alter said the dwindling interest isn't just a Siouxland phenomenon, it's nationwide. He, Fredrickson, Martin and others who love aviation will continue to offer those free rides and recruit anyone who shows any interest to stop out for a lesson or a class, or just come out for events such as fly-ins to watch dozens of planes come and go.
"We're doing everything we can think of to entice people to come to the airport," Martin said.
It costs nothing to watch, he'll tell you.
And if someone wanted to take it further and sign up for lessons?
Well, that would have him flying high.
Original article can be found here: http://siouxcityjournal.com
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