By Mary L. Brown, EAA Lifetime 642763
On July 16, EAA Chapter 430 held a Young Eagles Rally at Sequim Valley Airport in Sequim, Washington. We would be flying our 4,000th Young Eagle after 20 years of providing free flights to kids ages 8-17. Our special Young Eagle was Paige Biss, a 13-year-old Civil Air Patrol cadet from Port Angeles. Her pilot was Gordon Tubesing, EAA 1050151, who is also a member of UFO (United Flying Octogenarians). According to her mother, April Biss, she has wanted to fly since she was three years old.
“It started with butterfly wings that quickly advanced,” April said. “You could always find her climbing up as high as she could in a tree just to get an idea of what it was like to be a bird. She built a 10-foot- wide glider at the age of nine. When asked how she was going to test her glider, she matter-of-factly said, ‘I am going to jump off the roof!’ Naturally, I put an end to that thought and found her a long hill to run and test her lift. When it failed, she didn’t let go of her dreams to fly.”
April recalled that Paige had taken another flight for her birthday two years ago, and even though there was a bit of turbulence, she absolutely loved it.
“Her future aim is to fly the helicopter for the Coast Guard as her grandfather did,” April said. “She loves search and rescue and helping people while doing her job is her primary objective.”
Paige joined the Civil Air Patrol in April 2022, and has been promoted twice in the last three months. She is also scheduled to attend an eight-day search and rescue training academy at Joint Base Lewis McChord near Tacoma, Washington.
“She is excited to be a part of an organization that has goals and aspirations that line up with her own,” April said. “Flying runs deep in her desires and she is striving to keep learning all that she can.”