Rex Damschroder has been flying since he was a young teen, and he shared that passion for flight with area kids this summer during a Youth Flight Camp at the Fremont Airport.
FREMONT — When Rex Damschroder began learning to fly 50 years ago, he was just a 13-year-old boy, not even old enough for a driver’s license. His father and other pilots at the Fremont Airport gave him ground lessons and then took him in the air.
He obtained his instructor’s license when he was just 18. “I’ve been teaching people to fly my whole life,” he said.
Damschroder shared that passion for flying with local teens during this summer’s Youth Flight Camp. Thirteen area kids ages 12 to 17 learned the basics of flying and had the opportunity to take the controls during a flight.
“We had a very sharp class. They really impressed me with their interest in what we were doing,” Damschroder said. “We had a lot of scholarly students. Several said they wanted to go on and learn more.”
Damschroder said that age 12 to 14 is the ideal time to try flying. It gives kids a taste of flight and the opportunity to learn a skill that can bring lifetime pleasure — and maybe a career.
“Every astronaut and every airline pilot out there had to learn to fly somewhere,” he said.
With enough instruction, teens can be eligible to solo on their 16th birthdays. That is just what Tyler Bowers did. The 20-year-old got his start at Fremont Airport, and he helped organize and served as an instructor at the Youth Flight Camp.
Bowers said the students learned everything from the different types of planes to aerodynamics. Guest speakers were local pilots, including an F-16 fighter pilot, an air traffic controller, a ProMedica helicopter pilot and a crop duster.
“It’s all homegrown,” Damschroder said of the speakers. “We’ve been in business 50 years, and aviation is strong here.”
Bowers said the students received simulator time to get hands-on experience before flying an actual plane, and each student received a logbook. The half-hour they spent flying will count toward official flying hours if they choose to pursue a pilot’s license.
“We would go up one at a time, and they would do some climbs, turns, glides and descents to see what it feels like, and the instructor would show them how to take off and land,” Damschroder said.
Youth Flight Camp student Garrison Click, 14, of Vickery, said the week-long class was exciting. Click is a student and soccer player at Temple Christian Academy, a ministry of Fremont Baptist Temple. He said the pilot he went in the air with allowed him to choose where to go.
“We flew right over our church. The soccer field was very small from up there,” he said.
Garrison’s 12-year-old brother, Micah, also attended the camp. He enjoyed the opportunity to learn about and operate drones.
“It was just like a remote-controlled helicopter. It had the feel of that,” Micah said. “They had an iPad showing your altitude, and you could see where you were from the iPad. Farmers use them so they can see their crops.”
The camp gave Zack Rusch, 16, his first experience flying a plane. He liked it so much, he has already begun private flying lessons.
“I liked everything about the camp — flying the plane, learning the parts of the plane, seeing how the plane is built and how it flies,” Rusch said. “Now I’m there all the time, and I’ll do my airtime next summer.”
Damschroder hopes to have another Youth Flight Camp next summer, and private lessons for all ages are available anytime. This winter, the Fremont Airport will offer a 10-week Private Pilot Ground School, now in its seventh year.
“We offer these in the winter, when it’s snowing outside, and there’s nothing else to do,” Damschroder said. “It’s a great time of the year to learn all the things you need to know to pass your written test.”
Those that attend will join the hundreds of people who learned how to fly from Damschroder, a former state representative. He ran Fostoria Airport for 15 years and has been managing the Fremont Airport since 2008. He said people are welcome to stop by anytime to request flying lessons.
“Bring your checkbook, and we’ll start tomorrow,” he said.
Source: http://www.thenews-messenger.com
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