Essay Contest Winner Receives Young Eagles Flight With Sean D. Tucker

June 26, 2014 – Centerville (Ohio) High School sophomore Alberta Dempsey received the gift of flight and the experience of a lifetime when she flew with EAA Young Eagles Chairman and renowned air show pilot Sean D. Tucker on June 25 in Dayton, Ohio. The flight was the grand prize of the Vectren Dayton Air Show Essay Contest.

The essay contest, in association with the air show that takes place this weekend at Dayton International Airport, challenged youths ages 8-17 to imagine what first flight would be like and its significance. The 15-year-old Dempsey’s winning entry, “Flying Away from Adversity,” uses aviation as a metaphor for life.

“To me, flying means that adversity is overcome and your plane lifts off to bigger and better places,” she wrote. Dempsey’s words won Tucker’s heart.

“Her essay humbled me because she captured me as a person and what my world is about,” he said. “I can’t wait to share this with other young people.”

Tucker and Dempsey flew together for about 30 minutes in his two-seat Oracle Extra 300 L in cooperation with the Vectren Dayton Air Show and the EAA Young Eagles program. In his role as Young Eagles chairman, Tucker aims to fly a Young Eagle and a Young Eagles volunteer at each air show during his 2014 tour.

The Young Eagles program has provided free first flights to more than 1.8 million young people since 1992, creating opportunities for scholarships, flight training, awareness, and insight into the world of flight. For more information, visit the Young Eagles website.