![\"Discovery](\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nexus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/cd-0917-cd-aviation4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=564&type=webp&sig=ltFcV5SxnAf-ngyMPqqQ2A)
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Saturday was the first flight Josephine Matteis has been on since she was a baby.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was really fun,\u201d said the nine-year-old Chatham girl. \u201cI loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Josephine described the takeoff being \u201cvery fast\u201d and when it came to the view, she was impressed with seeing Walmart and the Blenheim water tower.<\/p>\n
Sebastien Hughes, 12, of \u00a0Lighthouse Cove, took his first flight in a homebuilt Vans RV-7 piloted by Perry Burford of Windsor.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt was very fun,\u201d Sebastien said, adding his favourite part was being able to take the controls to flying the plane for a short time.<\/p>\n
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He admits to being a little nervous, but that disappeared after the takeoff.<\/p>\n
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Sebastien also described the view as being beautiful.<\/p>\n
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Burford enjoys introducing kids to flying and believes it is important to foster an interest in aviation with young people.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe reason why we\u2019re here is we\u2019re all getting older and we\u2019ve got to pass the torch on to the younger generation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Burford said it is hoped through programs like Discover Aviation, young people might consider a career in aviation, which has many options, including serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, being a commercial or bush pilot, working in fire suppression or doing medial flights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A large contingent with the 294 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron volunteers with Discover Aviation every year and has benefitted with a boost in membership.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Warrant Officer First Class Jeremiah Larocque said this type of event sparks an interest in flying with kids, who ask a lot of questions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen they hear that there are air cadets in Chatham, we see them (come out),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Larocque said 20 new cadets have joining the local squadron so far this year.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Noting the squadron experienced a decline during COVID-19 restrictions, he said the number is rising with more than 50 cadets in the local program.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Larocque said cadets, which is open to boys and girls age 12 to 18, teaches young people about leadership and aviation.<\/p>\n He added as young people progress through the cadet program they can earn their pilot\u2019s licence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Larocque said anyone interested in the cadets can find the squadron on Instagram or Facebook. He added they can also come to the Monday meetings from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Col. E.M. Ansell Armoury on Bloomfield Road in Chatham.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Haslam said it has been a great partnership having the air cadets help with Discover Aviation, including escorting the kids to and from planes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He is pleased to see kids taking an interest in air cadets after experiencing Discover Aviation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why we do this we want kids to get interested in a career in aviation,\u201d Haslam said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Airplane traffic was busier than normal over Chatham-Kent Saturday as area pilots gave of their time and talents to introduce young people the thrill of flying. Well over 100 children, many taking their first flight, took off from the Chatham-Kent Municipal Airport participating in the Discover Aviation program aimed to spark an interest in the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":null,"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[96,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-featured-en"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Discovery](\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/nexus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0917-cd-aviation5-e1726344906149.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=564&type=webp&sig=uaDTHAO-8y9o1ql7yCg6mQ)
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