THE KIDDIE HAWK AIR ACADEMY
THE KIDDIE HAWK AIR ACADEMY
The Kiddie Hawk Air Academy is a tax exempt 501(c)(3)
organization incorporated and based in
Colorado. Gifts, grants and donations to the Academy are fully tax-deductible.
Our objective is to instill in kids from 4 to 9 years
of age an interest and appreciation of
aviation that will carry through into their adult years. We think this will also inspire them to
excel in math and science.
We go to schools and show the kids how to operate the Kiddie Hawk Flight Trainer, a miniature
airplane shaped like a Gee Bee Racer. Sitting in the cockpit and using the controls makes the Trainer maneuver about its three axes of motion, which produces a powerful impression of flight without any of the hazard and expense of actually flying in an airplane.
Then we give them hands on demonstrations and instruction in other aspects of aviation: mechanics
of flight, aviation careers, aviation history, the importance of aviation in everyday life, and so
on.
At the end of the program we present each kid with a Future Pilot Certificate and record his or her
name in a permanent logbook kept at the Air Academy.
The entire program is given free by part time volunteers, most of whom are aviation enthusiasts of
long standing. Many are active or retired professionals. All are dedicated to promoting interest in
aviation.
We need your help!
We seek tax-deductible donations from individuals, corporations and charitable support
organizations to pay for Trainers, education materials, and operating expenses. Send contributions
to:
Kiddie Hawk Air Academy
333 W Hampden Ave, Suite 703
Englewood CO 80110
Contributors will receive a short videotape of the Kiddie Hawk in action.
Scroll down for details.
THE AIR ACADEMY PROGRAM
The purpose and mission of the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy is to instill in kids an interest and appreciation of aviation that will carry through into their adult years. A larger objective is to inspire interest and dedication to the academic excellence required to enter careers in aviation, science, commerce and related technologies.
We accomplish this by visiting preschools, kindergarten
and early elementary schools and presenting an integrated program of education
about aviation, including parts of an airplane, basic principles of flight,
aviation history, geography, civics and career planning as they relate
to aviation. We also visit hospitals, museums, airshows, and other public
events. The principal age range of the children is from 3 to 9 years. As
such, it complements rather than competes with other programs designed
for older children such as the EAA Young Eagles program, CAP cadets, Boy
Scouts, and others.
The centerpiece of the program is the Kiddie Hawk Flight Trainer. The Trainer is a stylized miniature airplane similar to but much smaller and lighter than the WWII Link Trainer, and is shaped to resemble the famous Gee Bee Racer, a general aviation airplane. It has an open cockpit and is sized for children in the age range of interest. It is mounted on an elevated stand with a set of pivots so it can rotate freely about the center of the cockpit, and is equipped with functioning stick and rudder controls that enable the child to maneuver himself or herself about these pivots in powerful imitation of a real airplane. An instructor assists the child to enter and exit the cockpit and explains the use of the controls and the relationship between the cockpit controls and the motion of the airplane.
The child experiences a powerful impression of flight without any of the hazards and expense of actually flying an airplane, and much more so than sitting in a chair and watching a video screen as with computer driven flight simulator programs. Because the center of balance is just below the center of rotation, the child is able to control the Trainer with only his or her own strength; no batteries, motors, pumps, or other external source of power are required.
While it has enormous play value, the Kiddie Hawk is not a toy. It is an interactive, hands-on educational instrument to teach children basic principles and mechanics of aircraft maneuvering and control.
The name, Kiddie Hawk, recalls the location of the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Explaining this is an ideal introduction to the general subject of aviation. We follow this introduction with demonstrations and instruction in other aspects of aviation: parts of air airplane, the mechanics and physics of flight, aviation careers, aviation history, the importance of aviation in everyday life, recreational aviation and so on. We emphasize hands on interactive learning using actual airplane components and models as much as possible. These materials and instruction are tailored to the age and grade level of the children we are teaching. On completing the program, each child is given a special Future Pilot Certificate and his or her name is inscribed in a permanent logbook maintained by the Academy to serve as a record of the children who have participated in the program.
The program
emphasizes actual aircraft hardware and hands on interaction between the children, the materials
and the instructors. The Kiddie Hawks, supplementary materials, instructional teams and
transportation are provided free to the school or institution by the Air Academy and its unpaid
volunteers.
We are committed to a free and open program, offered without regard to race, creed, color, sex, national origin or religious preference. This program is particularly suited to the handicapped; the child need only be able to sit in the cockpit and grasp the control stick. Most important of all, the kid is in control: he or she can maneuver or not at will, and fine motor control or hand-eye coordination are not required.
ABOUT THE AIR ACADEMY
The Kiddie Hawk Air Academy was incorporated in Colorado as a not-for-profit corporation on November 20, 1998, and received a letter of recognition from the IRS as a tax exempt organization under IRC Section 501(c)(3) on April 23, 1999. The corporate address is the address of its registered agent, David N. Simmons, Esq:
333 W Hampden Avenue, Suite 703
Englewood Colorado 80110
Telephone 303-806-0202
e-mail : n8662h@sdc.org
The Academy is governed by a Board of Directors who set program goals, determine policy, and solicit and manage the funds required to support the program activities. Day to day operations are supervised by a salaried Executive Manager who is responsible to the Board. The Manager’s responsibilities include procurement of materials, keeping records, coordinating and scheduling school visits, and recruiting and training the volunteers who travel to the schools and instruct the children.
The founder, president and executive manager of the corporation is William L. (Bill) Marcy. The Board of Directors includes a housewife (who is a retired aerospace finance manager), a retired airline pilot and restorer of antique airplanes, a certified financial planning consultant, a banking executive, and an active elementary and middle school teacher who is also a pilot and builder of an amateur-built airplane.
Bill Marcy is a retired aeronautical engineer and consultant, an active private pilot and airplane owner, and has a long history of performing and managing small research programs, including 12 years as an independent aeronautical consultant. He is also a longtime volunteer in youth activities and in the Experimental Aircraft Association both locally and nationally. Finally, he is the inventor and builder of the Kiddie Hawk Trainer.
The Kiddie Hawk Air Academy is dedicated to aviation education for children at a highly impressionable stage of their development. The Flight Trainer alone has been an outstandingly effective means of demonstrating to children the fascination of flight. Many children have stood in line for 30 to 40 minutes to have a turn, and have immediately returned to the end of the line for another turn as many as four or five times. Combined with the hands-on approach to instruction in principles of flight, aviation history, aviation careers, and the importance of general aviation to modern life that we are developing, the Kiddie Hawk program has the potential to generate a lifelong favorable attitude toward aviation that is sadly lacking in today’s adult population, and in many cases to inspire a determination to choose a career in aviation. And, while aviation in itself is a highly specialized subject, the natural interest of nearly all children in aviation is a powerful incentive for them to take an interest in academic achievement across the board. We are creating the future pilots of the world!
We have the organization, the experience, and the dedication to succeed with this program; we lack only adequate funding. Initially we presented the program in the Denver-Boulder, Colorado metropolitan area. During the last few months, we have expanded into the town of Socorro, New Mexico, and of course we have visited the Experimental Aircraft events in Oskosh, Wisconsin and Lakeland, Florida. The ultimate goal is to extend it to less privileged outlying communities on the eastern plains and in the mountains of Colorado and, eventually nationwide, again with a focus on less-privileged rural and economically distressed areas.
ABOUT THE KIDDIE HAWK TRAINER
The Kiddie Hawk was first conceived in 1993-1995,
and a preliminary prototype was completed and shown at the Denver Air Fair
in March 1996. It has since been exhibited at successive Air Fairs and
airshows, including twice at the EAA International Convention at Oshkosh,
Wisconsin and once at the Sun N Fun Fly In at Lakeland, Florida. It has
also been presented to 
preschool
classes anda second grade classes in Broomfield, CO and Socorro, NM. It
has been modified, patched, and repaired often so that while its cosmetic
appearance is now rather rough, its ability to withstand the vigorous use
it is given by enthusiastic children is well proven. We estimate that 3,000
to 4,000 kids have enjoyed the Kiddie Hawk, although only 503 names have
been recorded because the Future Pilot Certificate and the Kids’ Logbook
were started only six months ago.
FUNDING NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION
The funding needs of the Air Academy are threefold: we need a new Trainer and transport; we need to develop a trained cadre of volunteers; and we need to improve our administrative functions of record-keeping, communications and fund-raising.
The most urgent need is improved hardware. The prototype Kiddie Hawk is much modified and repaired, and has a fundamental flaw: its cockpit is all right for small kids, but is too small for the 3rd and 4th graders we also want to reach. We need new Kiddie Hawks. Next we need to develop and improve our supplementary materials: more and better models, interactive displays, and handout illustrations of principles of flight, general aviation aircraft, aviation history, and so on. Finally, we want to obtain a trailer to transport the Trainer and its supplementary materials to the schools and other institutions we plan to visit.
Experience has shown that at least three volunteers are required: one to instruct the child in the
Kiddie Hawk, and the others to demonstrate and explain the instructional materials. These volunteers need to be trained in aiding kids to enter and leave the Kiddie Hawk, in presenting the instruction and demonstration materials, and particularly in enlisting the aid and coordinating their efforts with the classroom teachers.
A Kiddie Hawk costs approximately $2,700; a transport trailer costs approximately $2,500. Education
materials, insurance, volunteer reimbursement and administrative expenses for 90-100 school visits
over an 18 week semester are estimated to cost $8,200.
LOOKING AHEAD
We have often been asked whether we will sell kits or plans. Well, yes and no. First of all, we envision the Kiddie Hawk program as not just a unique flight simulator, but an entire education program to inform and excite kids in a way that will stay with them into their adult years. We would like to see this program in schools and museums all across the country. However, we don’t have the organization, the know-how, or the funds to run a national organization. However, to insure that each purchaser is dedicated to the program we are making the so expensive the purchaser will want to protect his investment. We have set a price for plans equal to 15 percent of the cost of building a complete Kiddie Hawk. Additional justification for this price is that we are furnishing not only plans for the Kiddie Hawk but also reproducible instructional materials and outlines for the education curriculum we are developing. The price we have settled on is $415.
Also we will only sell plans and materials to established charitable organizations whose goals are aviation education for kids. We don’t have to see your IRS tax exemption letters, but we do need to know your Federal Employer Identification Number.
Finally we will insist on a commitment to follow the Future Pilot Certificate and Logbook program and to furnish us with monthly or quarterly copies of the Logbook and a tally of certificates issued. We envision an informal organization, tentatively called the Kiddie Hawk Association, that will function as a communication network for exchanging ideas, information, and lessons learned among the Kiddie Hawk community.
For a prompt response to any questions or request for further information, use our e-mail address : n8662h@nm.net or kids2fly@nm.net. Or phone the Executive Manager at 505-838-4401. We have photographs and video as well as additional written information .