Brrmmmm... the sound of the engine roars to life as the small plane rumbles down the runway and ascends quickly into the sky. On board the 1971 Grumman Yankee AA-1A is longtime veteran pilot Kim Muinch and his fearless passenger, 16-year-old Lucas Tracy, a junior at Ridgeview High School in Redmond. Just a few miles away, 17-year-old Sisters High School senior Mary Root is completing her preflight checklist before taking the helm of a single-engine Cessna 120 tailwheel light aircraft.
Lucas and Mary are not like other students their age. While the closest most teenagers get to a cockpit is via online video games, these two teens are part of the thriving youth aviation scene here in Central Oregon.