By Brandon V. Webb
Texas Transportation Institute
Flight means freedom. It has the power to inspire, heal, and offer hope. And perhaps no group knows that better than the pilots who fly for Challenge Air. Founded by the late Rick Amber in 1993, the nonprofit “Challenge Air for Kids and Friends” has given wings to more than 22,500 physically challenged children, youths and their families.
Ride along with Challenge Air and you won’t find any Right attendants, luggage tags or tray tables (locked in their upright position or not). What you will find are pilots, some of them wheelchair aviators, and copilots-the kiddos. That’s right. These kids get to fly. They actually take the controls. And for many who are never able to walk a step here on earth, soaring through the sky proves that they can navigate their lives with fewer limitations than they thought.
“Challenge Air come to us last year and asked if we would be interested in hosting a Fly Doy event in 2006,” says Mesquite Metro Airport Doctor Cynthia Godfrey. ”Talk about a humbling experience-to see people who by our definition ore handicapped working circles around you. Watching them shows me they can do anything.”
Godfrey, who has now dedicated her airport annually to host Challenge Air Fly Days, says the epitome of flights is watching these physically challenged young people get out of an airplane and realize that they flew it.
“It helps instill faith in themselves when they do something like that,” Godfrey says.
Challenge Air’s Executive Director Byron Laszlo says the Mesquite Metro Airport is on ideal location for the event.
“Mesquite works for us perfectly,” Laszlo says. ”The amount of romp space, which is one of our criteria, exceeded our expectations. Then, of course, Cynthia Godfrey’s passion and thoughtfulness toward our organization just
sealed the deal.”
Twenty-six pilots and more than 130 children and youths with special needs pre-registered for last year’s Fly Day event at Mesquite. Laszlo expects 150 kids this year to fly with about 30 pilots. Most of the children will come from Dallas County, but Challenge Air flies’ children from around the country at some 16 Fly Day events.
“I know the program works in miraculous ways for many of the kids that we fly, but it’s also mode a tremendous impact on me,” Laszlo says. “Once you do a Challenge Air event, it’s in you. The energy drink Red Bull, with the slogan “Gives you wings,” is a national sponsor of the Fly Day events. Locally, the charitable Dallas Foundation provided $16,000 in underwriting for Mesquite Metro’s Challenge Air event on September 29.
Godfrey, who enters her 25th year in the field of aviation, says the partnership with Challenge Air will continue for years to come. “We’re involved because it’s a chance to mentor and help people that normally wouldn’t get a chance to ever get up and go in an airplane,” Godfrey says. “Flying is the only thing I do where I can forget everything, and I hope it’s that way for these kids.”
