Pearson airport Appreciation Day draws big crowd

Pearson Field — More than 750 people turned out for Pearson Airport Appreciation Day on Sept. 21. Radio Disney co-hosted and presented activities centered on the new movie “Planes.” There were open cockpits for folks to climb into and drawings for free airplane flights and introductory lessons, courtesy of Pearson’s on-campus Aero Maintenance Flight Center. Theresa Nelson, director of operations for Aero Maintenance, said a dad and his two sons won a free flight and were simply awestruck when airborne. “If you can just imagine two young little boys, starry-eyed, looking out the window, saying, ‘Look at the school bus, do you see the eagle, can we go to my old school, can we see the mall, can we, can we?’ Even small airplanes have the ability of making the world a smaller place,” Nelson wrote in an email. “We also had two deaf pilots volunteering at the event, proving that the deaf community is welcome and needed in aviation.”