The "Thrill of the First Flight" event was a success at the Statesboro Bulloch County Airport on June 15, 2024 after its initial rainout in May. The event was sponsored by the nonprofit organization, Black Pilots of America (BPA), and organized by John Ratcliff, to allow students up to high school age to experience being in the air on smaller, private aircraft.
The experience is vastly different from large commercial air travel, making the opportunity to fly in these airplanes truly thrilling for young people who have only experienced flight on larger commercial airplanes or not at all.
Ratcliff explained that the purpose of the event was to "encourage the youth to enter the field of aviation"
Almost a month ago, mother nature had other plans for the First Flight families. At the May event, parents and kids were huddled up inside the airport lobby, watching the rain pour down on the runway. It ended up being too risky to get in the air, so the event was rescheduled (read about it here). Organizer John Ratcliff was determined to give these kids the experience they were looking for, and it paid off.
This go round, rain wasn't an issue. Actually, it was the complete opposite. The summer sun showed no mercy on those in attendance. Luckily, there were multiple food vendors on site with some Say Squeeze Lemonade, Road-Tisserie Chicken and some Freeze Pop Ice Cream.
For the main event, kids who had signed up and filled their out their waivers got to come out onto the runway and wait for an open spot. Once everything was in the clear, Ratcliff would lead them to a golf cart to meet the pilot and ride to the plane that they would be flying in. They would then load up and hit the runway to the sky. After the ride was complete, the kid(s) would come out to one of the tents and receive a certificate and a free shirt. Thanks to some last minute vacancies/no shows, some children were even able to drop in and fly after filling out a waiver.
Ratcliff stated that they have done these events previously in Savannah and Waycross, and they look to return to Statesboro next year.
"We are extremely satisfied with the program," he said.
