Flight instruction scholarships given to three, while attendees look over various planes on the tarmac
Despite cloudy skies that followed overnight rain, the Santa Ynez Airport drew a sizable crowd to its annual Airport Day on May 17.
Those who came to the free event at Kunkle Field off Highway 246 were greeted by a sea of aircraft on the runway, about 44 total, with pilots on hand to discuss their planes to curious onlookers.
And as in past years, the day was highlighted by the awarding of three aviation scholarship given to flight students in the Santa Ynez. The recipients were Kyle Mahon, Cristian Sotelo, and Jonas Weinman, and they were presented with their scholarship on the lawn in front of the airport office by Bill Krauch, longtime member of the Santa Ynez Airport Authority.
“We have three candidates who have been pursuing their aviation careers at their own expense,” Krauch said. “We expect this scholarships to expedite the process for them to become commercial pilots.”
Krauch also introduced two important members of the scholarship team: Jerry Long, who is the chief fundraiser for the scholarships, and Ryan McGill, a commercial airline pilot who oversees the students’ instruction.
One of the three scholarship winners, Mahon, has been an employee of the airport for two years and has had aviation in his blood.
“My father and grandfather were pilots and I’ve always just been around it,” he said. “I tried to be around it as much as possible, and one day I came to the airport to ask if they were hiring, they said they were, and I started working here. I’ve just met a lot of amazing people.”
Mahon hopes to use his scholarship to be a corporate or airline pilot for his career.
“I don’t know which way I will go on that right now, but I’ll just use this money to my advantage and see where it takes me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sotelo has much of his training done and is close to getting his private pilot’s license.
“I’m getting the license pretty soon,” said Sotelo, who wants to pursue a career with the military or with Cal Fire. “I’m definitely toward the end of that with 40 hours done and a couple more to go, and the scholarship will go toward that. There more training for that and after that getting my instrument rating.”
While the other two recipients are working toward their licenses, Weinman has already obtained his, and his scholarship will go toward getting his instrument rating.
“The instrument rating is an attachment onto my private pilot’s license, which allows me to fly in clouds and in bad weather,” he said. “Basically, it’s being able to fly without being able to see anything outside and just going off your instruments.”
Weinman has long had an interest in aviation, but he said it was really piqued a few years ago.
“I’ve always loved planes, and I’ve always loved airports and everything,” he said. “But it really struck probably when I was around 15 years old and I went up on a ‘discovery’ flight as a passenger and really got hooked after that.”
Weinman is hoping to become a commercial pilot after all his training is done. “Yeah, I’m definitely looking at a career in the airlines,” he said.
While the aspiring aviators were getting their scholarship, down at the runway, many pilots, professional and otherwise, were engaging with crowd members on their planes.
One such plane stood just by the steps down to the tarmac; it was on display for a cause. The aircraft was part of SafeLaunch, an anti-drug program based in Santa Barbara that provides “parents and decision makers with information and support that they need to prevent adolescent drug and alcohol use before it starts,” as its website, safelaunch.org, states.
Co-founder Ron Cuff, a retired Naval aviator, was manning the group’s table in front of a white plane that doubled as a canvas of sorts as kids were invited to paint on the side of the plane, which in the window had names of youths who died from drugs. Cuff also present youths with a card containing an anti-drug pledge which he had the youths recite aloud.
“This is our 71st aviation event overall, and we’ve been to this event [in Santa Ynez] four or five times now,” Cuff said. “We have our presentation here at the table, showing how companies try to market drugs to kids with deceptive advertising. I’m all for free enterprise, but not when you try to advertise drugs and alcohol and poison our kids with it. There’s a limit to ‘free enterprise'”
Meanwhile, on the other end of the runway, another pilot used his plane to engage with people. Joey Hickox’s plane was red and white with the Chick-fil-A logo on the tail. The branding was appropriate as Hickox’s is the owner of the Chick-fil-A franchise in Santa Maria.
“I have my restaurant there, and I bought a plane and after about a year I had to repaint, so I got permission from corporate to put the logo on the tail and fly around with it,” he said. “I heard about this event and this is the first time I’ve been to this one. I love flying and was in the Air Force for 30 years, and was a good way to combine my job and my hobby.”
