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Date: 4/19/2021
HOLYOKE – Vet Air, a volunteer aviation transportation option for veterans seeking to get to and from medical appointments, are raising funds in order to bring the Western Massachusetts' Wright Flight program to the youth in Holyoke.
Western Massachusetts Wright Flight is a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching students from seventh grade through high school in Westfield, Southwick, Granville and Tolland about aviation using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Based out of Barnes Airport, the program explores the history and future of aviation, its global impact and the variety of careers in the aviation industry.
Mike Gutowski, the president of Western Mass Wright Flight explained, “The aviation I program is an after-school class for seventh and eighth graders. We have weekly classes on how aviation began and talk a little bit about the Wright brothers. We have classes in flight control, what makes airplanes fly. We talk about the golden age of aviation between the two World Wars and how aviation really took off during that time – no pun intended.”
Gutowski also mentioned they have field trips – one to the New England Air Museum – and the other to a local manufacturing site in the Pioneer Valley.
The whole program ends up in late April where each student gets to fly in an airplane at the controls with a certified flight instructor for a half an hour flight.
Their aviation II program is for high schoolers on Saturdays from September to early November where Gutowski said they “get a little more into the details of plotting, navigation, aviation physiology and radio communications.” Students get to shadow engineers in their facilities for a day and observe them using Computer Aided Design programs. Students have the opportunity to meet with administrators to discuss various engineering careers if they wish to explore the educational pathways for those careers.
Vet Air is looking to raise $4,000 in order to provide 20 children the opportunity to participate in the Wright Flight Aviation I program free of charge. CEO/pilot of Vet Air Jesus M. Pereira said he would love to be able to raise $30,000 to $40,000 a year to keep the program rolling in Holyoke.
“I am convinced that our children are taught all the wrong things when it comes to careers and opportunities,” Pereira responded. “More often than not, goals are minimal and or nonexistent. I would rather provide an opportunity for our children where they are taught that they can skip the cliff effect and start earning a decent salary at a young age. In some cases, aviation careers don'’ require a college degree, but provide a living wage.”
He continued, “I’m tired of our youth being taught that they need to fill lower paying jobs as a means to surviving. I believe that telling kids that any particular job at the lower spectrum of salaries is a lifelong trap that they will find difficult to overcome and move on.”
Pereira is a Holyoke native and grew up in the city. He served in the Massachusetts National Guard for over 20 years and spent most of those years working closely with aviation battalions. Pereira pointed out, “I am a product of the city. Not once while growing up was it ever mentioned that the aviation industry was accessible for someone like me.”
Pereira went on to say, “The irony is that the aviation industry is all around us. Holyoke is flanked by two military bases, Westover and Barnes and to the south we have Bradley and Sikorsky, to name a few employers. I was lucky to have been exposed to aviation in the military. I too thought I was not good enough to be an aviator. Seems to me I was wrong.”
To donate to the program, go to this link, https://vetair.networkforgood.com/projects/127395-holyoke-wright-flight-a-youth-aviation-stem-program.