By Tyla Puzey
The EAA Young Aviators is a movement targeted at young people involved in any segment of aviators. Young Aviators is for anyone between the ages of 16-30 years old who is involved in or wants to get into aviation. Everyone is welcome whether you’re a glider pilot, a fixed-wing pilot, a helicopter pilot, ground crew operations, or even if you are looking to start your aviation journey!
On Saturday 28th September it was something new for the aviators. The Idea was to expose young minds to the Technical side of aviation to give them a first-hand look at the inner workings of the machines they have been training on and learning to fly.
On the day many topics were covered and many wonderful questions were raised by the keen young minds. Below are some of the demonstrations that were set up by the professional team Sport Plane Builders.
Blow by tests
Wheel service and related parts
Oil change and Oil filter cut open inspection
Pitot Static and transponder test were demonstrated
Piston, Cylinder and valve parts were shown and explained
Sheet metal and riveting demonstration
Magneto and ignition Timing explained
Composites fibre tour, systems and moulds explanation
The aviators got to watch a demo and an explanation of these items with a full exploration of the subject with a Q&A session after the demo.
Many good questions were asked which was encouraging to see and I assume many had no idea of the way things were on the tech side of aircraft.
We had one funny comment afterwards, “I had no idea there was so much going on inside the plane while flying now I’m a little scared.” To which she was told aviation is very safe because of the process in place to check everything that happens on or with an aircraft. They form some of the highest mechanical standards in the world so no need to worry and that’s why you are trained to deal with problems for that reason.
The aviators had a short intro from Pierre, the owner of Sport Plane Builders about the maintenance process on aircraft. Then a short video with a talk from a lifelong aviator also shows the rebuilding of an aircraft.
It was also apparent during the day just how important technical information is for young people training in aviation. We recommend that all aviators make the effort to be at these Technical days as it’s highly rewarding for all segments of aviation.
A membership to the young aviators will cost R250 for the year, where you will then receive a personalised reflective safety vest and will be added to a community WhatsApp group where all upcoming events and fly-ins will be posted. This group chat is open to everyone who is a member, and members can talk about anything and everything aviation-related. With a membership, you will also have access to all EAA events and fly-ins outside of the young aviators program as well as other added benefits mentioned above. Please visit the membership section on the EAA website to join and become a part of the community.
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