experience georgetown
by Charlotte Kovalchuk photos by Mark Marquez
Kids with Special Needs Take Flight
Westin Thomas had a blast soaring through the skies.
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s Paul Hansen talks to a group of kids with special needs and their families at the Georgetown Municipal Airport, he is suddenly interrupted by a hug from a boy with Down syndrome. Paul doesn’t seem to mind, later saying that hugs and smiles are why he started his nonprofit organization Flying Vikings 12 years ago. “There’s no agenda. I’m not out to impress anybody. I just want to make someone smile,” he says. There were 24 of those smiles the day before Halloween this year as kids descended on the airport dressed as everything from a chef to a prison inmate to Scooby Doo. They soared through the skies with volunteer pilots, even taking control of the plane for a few minutes during an aviation adventure provided by Flying Vikings, which gives free plane rides to kids ages 6-18 who have a chronic illness or disability. For some parents, the event was about giving kids like 10-year-old Westin Thomas the chance to feel normal. “I get to be the captain and fly you everywhere!” Westin, who has Costello syndrome, tells his mom, Angelica. “It’s great, seeing his smile and how happy
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it makes him,” she says. “He has a lot of challenges. It’s nice to do something that doesn’t involve hospitals or doctors.” Other parents saw the event as an opportunity even typical kids don’t get. Donna Adams brought her sons, 11-year old Cole and 12-year-old Nathan, who are both autistic. “No one gets to do this," she says. "Not even regular kids. With group activities, [special needs kids] are always last, always behind. Flying Vikings gives them a step up. For 30 minutes, they don’t have special needs. They’re pilots.”
