7 May 2013
The 6th annual Aviation Youth and Education conference took place on 27 April. Organised by YES, the Youth and Education branch of the LAA and supported by Boeing, a range of speakers brought together over 15 different organisations from across the aviation world, all with the same aim of inspiring and developing young people.
While increasing costs, red tape and overbearing health and safety requirements remained a burden on everyone, the range of opportunities for young people to get involved in aviation encompassed everything from Beaver Scouts building paperplanes to schoolchildren building whole light aircraft and on up into university level study and the new Apprenticeship scheme for those embarking on a commercial career.
Among the many new presenters this year were representatives from AOPA, GASCO, RAFA, Air Britain and Coventry University, in addition to regular attendees from the British Women Pilots Association, GAPAN and RAeS.
Updates on the progress of both the private venture Build-a-Plane projects and the Boeing-funded RAeS School Build-a-Plane Challenge were well received and at White Waltham, the Joystick Club have been building pedalplanes and turning a Tomahawk rescued from the brambles into a trailer-able simulator.
Ernest Lear received the YES Lifetime Achievement Award for his many years of work giving young people the opportunity to get involved, and reflected on his in-at-the-deep-end start when he discovered he was enlisted to show 700 schoolchild around the then PFA Rally in one afternoon.
YES now look forward to another year working together and brings in quantifiable results for everyone engaging with young people’s activities.
More volunteers are always needed and there are many ways to help, from giving an hour or so of your time to help your local Beaver Scout Colony get their Air Activities badge, or help at a youth flying day taking a young person for their very first flight and seeing the amazing grin on their face. You can contact YES via the website <a href=’http://yesflyers.org.uk’ target=’_blank’>yesflyers.org.uk</a> or Facebook <a href=’http://facebook.com/yesflyers’ target=’_blank’>facebook.com/yesflyers</a>.
