The clouds were low, but spirits were high for a group of area children with special needs last Saturday at Taylor Municipal Airport.
“He loved flying through the cloud,” said Hutto resident Stacey Gist, of her son, Stone, who had the chance to take control of a small aircraft as part of the third annual Fly Day sponsored by the nonprofit organization Flying Vikings Sept. 17 at Taylor Municipal Airport.
“He said, ‘Look how high we are,’” Gist recalled. “He had such a good time.”
Flying Vikings founder Paul Hansen, a Belton-area pilot, said 25 area kids with special needs, including Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, participated in the free event, which featured seven planes, and as many volunteer pilots, who took the kids and their families up for a plane ride.
Flying Vikings is made up of volunteer pilots with a minimum of 250 hours of time as pilot in command and who are current with all their flight standards and ratings.
In addition to flying, the event also featured craft activities donated by Home Depot, pizza from Domino’s Pizza, plus other snacks, Hansen said.
Hansen said due to weather conditions, the flights were delayed, but that everyone had a good time.
“We had to wait an hour and a half until the clouds decided to get to an altitude that made us able to have the event,” Hansen said.
Perla Nuñez said her son Emiliano, 15, did not mind the wait because of the craft activities, which allowed kids to build and paint wooden planters or baskets.
“When we arrived, they had tables with activities for the children,” she said. “They were planning to start earlier, but the clouds were very low, so they couldn’t start before, but my child made a lot of projects from Home Depot, and he was very excited because he was hammering.”
“The children were very happy while they were waiting for the plane,” she added.
In addition to the pilots, volunteers came out from the Rotary Club of Taylor, helping with food setup, cleanup and loading the kids in the aircrafts, Hansen said.
“The Rotary Club was very helpful,” Hansen said. “We need people like that, wanting to give their time and their hearts.”
Hansen said that Flying Vikings will be planning another Fly Day in Taylor next spring, and they will be hosting another one in Georgetown next month.
Nevertheless, for her part, Gist said she was so touched by the kindness of the volunteers.
“It was extremely generous of the people that sponsored it,” Gist said. “It makes us as parents feel so special that people recognize that our kids are kids too, and that they deserve to have fun as well.”
Though Gist said this experience was memorable for her son, it was not the only big day for him last week.
In fact, the night before his inaugural flight, he was featured as KVUE’s “Athlete of the week,” due to the gold medals he has earned through the Special Olympics, as well as many other accomplishments, including being a beloved member of the Hutto High School band.
Still, she said the flight was an amazing ride for Stone.
“He went from ‘Friday night lights to the air to the newspaper in Taylor,” Gist said. “He is living his best life.”
