Flight of Dreams lands at Vance

  • Published
  • By David Poe
  • 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  "If birds can glide for long periods of time, then ... why can't I?"

This pondering by Orville Wright bridges the gap between youthful wonderment and scientific analysis - likely tenets of the 5th Flying Training Squadron's "Flight of Dreams" program.

In its 10th year, Flight of Dreams helped Enid fifth-graders reach out and touch the wonders of flight and get an up-close look at their nation's Air Force with their annual visit to Vance, May 7.

The tour capped eight weeks of classes where 5th FTS instructor pilots taught a range of topics that included: the history of aviation, aerodynamics, Air Force heritage, Vance history and basic airport operations.

Led by Lt. Col. Bob Volpe, a 5th FTS instructor pilot and 26-year military veteran, and supported by Vance student pilots, the tour included stops at aircraft hangars, the 71st Operations Support Squadron Weather Flight, the 71st Security Forces military working dogs kennel, and other locales that showcased the Vance mission.

Volpe said while Flight of Dreams is a 5th FTS program, the annual tour is a Team Vance effort because it shows base operations in action, which requires considerable flexibility behind the scenes.

"With most agencies, all it takes is a call a day-or-two prior [to the tour] to see if it's okay to come by," he said, "and it always is because people here are great - people love kids. Every place I take the kids on base, you can see they take pride in what they do." 

Cindy Johndrow teaches fifth grade at Hayes Elementary School in Enid, and May 7 marked the end of her sixth Flight of Dreams season. She said every year, whether it was using props to help explain complex concepts like centrifugal force, or explaining engineering by building paper airplanes to bring "hands on" experiences to the classroom, she appreciates 5th FTS pilots' tangible approach to education.

"It gives the kids a better understanding of what's happening when they hear those planes overhead every day," she said.

2nd Lt. Ian Anthony, a 71st Student Squadron student pilot, was one of the day's guides. The U.S. Air Force Academy graduate said he hoped the Flight of Dreams tour provided an educational opportunity the kids may have not received by studying the curriculum in books alone. He remembered school outreach programs when he was a kid and the impact they'd left on him and his classmates.

"We had an outreach program with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and a lot of my peers ended up being STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors, so it's a really good way to know what's going on," he said.

The Flight of Dreams program also attempts to bring Enid schoolkids closer to Vance by learning the pilot training mission and getting to meet those who support it.

"We aren't a separate populous; we are built from the communities we live in," said Master Sgt. Chad Quin, the 71st OSS Weather Flight NCO in-charge and a meteorologist. "I also try to make sure they know that if they want to be an Airman one day, education is important. I use a lot of science and math in my career field, so I make it a point to tell them just how important school is at their age in order to be eligible to do the things I do at my age."

Volpe said while the program isn't designed to be military-focused, after ten years of teaching Flight of Dreams, he's convinced that one day one of his former students will walk into his pilot training classroom.

"Every year there are two or three kids who really seem to get it," he said. "When I ask them 'who wants to be a pilot?' and they raise their hands, I can see it in their faces that they want it because I can see myself when I was in the fifth grade."

Yet, the program remains to be about something else - it's about reminding Enid schoolkids that no dreams are too big, no matter where they take them. 

"It doesn't have to be about flying, the Air Force or the military," he said. "We as pilots dreamt of being pilots, and we followed that dream. I'm still a kid at heart."

Quin agreed that dreaming big is fueled by inspiration; therefore he hoped the classroom curriculum and tour succeeded in helping dreams take flight.

"We all were where these kids are at one time, and here we are now," he said. "We serve them, because we are them."