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Ashley Edwards, 12, of Milton enjoyed a flight aboard an RV-6 piloted by Experimental Aircraft Association pilot Cliff Nunnery (background) Saturday as part of the association's Young Eagles program. The program's goal is to get youth interested in flying by taking them up in airplanes. A total of nine kids flew with association members at Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview Saturday.

CRESTVIEW -- Since the dawn of time, man has been fascinated by flight. The Experimental Aircraft Association wants to keep it that way. 

To spark interest in aviation, the national organization wants to get 1 million youngsters in the air by the year 2003. Not in planes with in-flight movies and flight attendants, but in planes that weigh about the same as an automobile and jump in a good wind. 

Saturday, the local chapter added nine more kids to the list. 

"This is my very first time in a plane," said 12-year-old Peter Vandevoorde. "I loved it." Peter had just finished riding in Ray Hamorski's homebuilt RV-4, a 900-pound twoseater that cruises at 170 mph. 

As with the several planes that took off before them, chapter president (actually Young Eagles coordinator) and former Air Force pilot Jerry Poltorak had sent Vandevoorde and Hamorski up with very specific instructions. 

"Go to Florala and show them the lake," Poltorak said. "Then tool around a little bit and show them some scenery: Whatever you can find." 

Poltorak, who spent 26 years as an Air Force pilot, loves to see kids in the air. 

"When I was a youngster, I was able to come to an airport like this and walk right up to an airplane," Poltorak said. 

"That's no longer the case. Airplanes have become so expensive that they build fences around them and lock them up. ... Hopefully this will spark an interest." 

Sparking interest in this particular group of kids wasn't too hard. 

The nine Santa Rosa County youngsters are part of a Navy youth program that teaches the science of aviation. 

Deputy  director Richard  McKenzie brought this group, called Starbase Atlantis, over from Whiting Field Naval Air Station as part of its advanced training. 

"It's great for these students to actually get a taste of what they've been learning about," said McKenzie. 

"We're already getting some nudges to parents for flight lessons.... We've got one student who figured out that if he gets a lesson every month, he can get his license by the time he's 16.... This is opening new avenues they've never thought of." Some avenues were grander than others. 

"I want to fly with the Blue Angels," said 12-year-old Ashley Edwards after her ride. 

"The ride was fine but I wasn't too sure about the landing. ... I was jittery, not scared."