Nahara Garcias climbs out of an airplane after taking a 30-minute flight over the Central Coast with her mother Sandra (seen in window) and sister Mirial. The plane was piloted by Larry Wolfsen.

Five-year-old Patricia Kaster was at a loss for words after her 30-minute flight Saturday at the Watsonville Airport.

She saw the Central Coast as she had never seen it before and even got to spend some time steering the plane, guiding it through the air from the co-pilot seat. But the shy youngster was too flustered to put the experience into words.

“She had her hand on the wheel the whole flight,” said father, John Caster of Santa Cruz. “She is going to remember this forever.”

Patricia was one of about 250 children with disabilities or special needs that, along with members of their families, got a chance to fly during Day in the Sky, an event hosted by the Watsonville Airport, the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association and Shared Adventures, a group that plans activities for children that are disabled or have special needs.

Sydney Kaster said activities like this are so important for her daughter because she would not be looked at differently by other children, and parents could meet other parents dealing with similar situations. “It’s a really wonderful event,” she said.

“Normally she’s a little shy about doing thing with new people,” said John Caster about his daughter. “But she climbed right up the wing. This was great for her.”

The event, the third annual, was the brainchild of Dean McCully, a San Jose resident who took his autistic nephew flying once and was amazed how therapeutic the experience was for the boy. McCully then contacted Shared Adventures, run by Foster Anderson of Santa Cruz, and the idea blossomed into Day in the Sky.

Anderson, who was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident when he was 17, started Shared Adventures in 1994 to offer recreational programs to other people with special needs. He said the third edition of Day in the Sky was the best yet.

“The airport has been excellent. They put in this new parking lot and it is a lot more accessible,” he said.

The parking lot was filled with people. There were informational booths from 19 nonprofit organizations, a sound stage and a big barbecue, with free food for nearly 800 guests. Easter Seals was sharing information for parents of special-needs children and adaptive equipment, including a walking machine, was on display.

“So many times, people with special needs don’t realize the things that are accessible to them,” said Anderson. “Everything can be accessible with an accessible mind.”

About 100 people, including pilots, volunteered to make the event happen.

“It’s a unified effort by a whole lot of people, caring for people who are less fortunate than we,” said pilot Larry Wolfsen.

Bob Sliter is in charge of the Young Eagles program of the local EAA. Young Eagles already flies children aged 8 to 17 on the first Saturday of the month during the spring and summer months, but Day in the Sky takes a much larger volunteer effort than a normal Young Eagles program. About 35 pilots were taking children up Saturday, nearly 30 more than usual.

“On our normal Young Eagles day we get about 50 kids — here, we’re looking at 200, and I’m making a low estimate,” said Sliter. “But it’s really, really worthwhile. It’s a great thing.”

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*Photo by Jon Chown*

(Published 4/23/07 edition)



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