We received a beautifully written thank you note from one of our Flying Start Eagles. I think most pilots would agree that sharing their own love of flying is one of the greatest joys.
Dear Mr.Bowen,
My name is Kayla Kim; I attended the Young Eagles Program in Granbury on May 16th, just last Saturday. I hope this email finds you well–ideally at cruising altitude, because after Saturday, that is where I feel like my dreams now live.
After attending the Young Eagles program this past Saturday, I genuinely don’t think I have the words to fully capture what the experience meant to me. But I will try, because you and everyone who made that day happen desire to hear it.
From the moment the plane lifted off the ground, something clicked. I have always had a deep interest in aeronautics. Both of my parents worked in the airline industry, so aviation has always been a backdrop to my life. I knew the field, I respected it. But Saturday, I finally “felt it”. There is a difference between understanding how something works and actually being inside it, feeling the hum of the engine, the bumps created by the wind, watching the instruments, and looking out at the great woods of Granbury thinking, “Oh, this is what they’ve been talking about.”
I am currently studying for a FAA Unmanned Remote Pilot Certification, so I have been reading books on aeronautics–airspace,weather, flight, dynamics..Getting to experience manned flight brought so many of those concepts to life in a way no book or video ever could. It was such a fulfillment of the thirst for knowledge I have been carrying around for a long time. Please consider it quenched. (Temporarily–I am already hungry for more!)
The environment was nothing short of inspiring. Every pilot there carried themselves with a kind of calm confidence and passion that I deeply admired. Watching them in their element, I caught myself thinking: “I want that. I want to be someone who lives and breathes this.” I don’t know exactly what my path looks like yet, but I know with certainty that I want to lead somewhere close to where those pilots are standing.
This experience was genuinely one of the highlights of my year–maybe longer. It lit a fire in me that I fully intend to keep burning. I hope to return as a Young Eagle again, not just to relive the thrill (though, yes, absolutely for that too), but to learn more, grow more, and deepen my love for this field even further.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for creating and facilitating a program that gives young people like me access to something so life-changing. What you do matters more than you probably realize.
Now, I do have one small request, and I promise it comes from the most genuine place: I had an incredible pilot who flew the plane with me on Saturday, and I would love to thank him personally. He was fantastic, and that kind of mentorship deserves a personal note (or at the very least, a very enthusiastic message). If there’s any way to track down his contact information through your records, I would be so grateful. It would be upsetting for such a great person to be unthanked!
Thank you again, truly. You’ve given me a memory I’ll carry for the rest of my life, and quite possibly a career direction to go with it.
With gratitude and a freshly ignited passion for flight,
Kayla Kim