THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 15, 1996 TAG: 9602130092
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Four-year-old Jeffrey Ponton couldn't stop talking.
``I want to go all the way up in the sky,'' he told anyone who was listening. ``I want to drive that helicopter. Look, look. There it is.''
Donnell Arrington squealed and jumped. Raven Davenport didn't say anything from beneath the folds of her tightly closed hooded parka, but her wide brown eyes gleamed.
Tears streamed down Teresa Arnette's face.
``I'm scared,'' the pre-schooler wailed to her teacher, Diana Johnson, who was holding the child in her arms.
For 60 4-year-olds from the Berkley/Campostella Early Childhood Center, touring a ``giant'' Sea Dragon helicopter, sitting in the pilot's seat and hanging out with a couple of naval aviators was almost too much to handle.
``This is one big bundle of excitement,'' said a teacher, Vanessa Bridgers, as she laughed and tried to keep her charges in line so they could safely climb aboard the parked aircraft. ``Not many of them have ever been this close to a plane before. You can see how excited they are.''
As the group of children took turns walking up a roller-way into the plane, Jasmine Gregory suddenly announced to her pint-sized classmates, most of whom were silently staring at the inside guts of the helicopter with awe: ``I'm going to drive this and fly up in the air and see all the birds.''
``Me, too,'' announced Donnell, not wanting to be left out.
Within seconds, echoes of hushed ``me, toos'' filled the plane.
But as Jasmine climbed into the cockpit alongside the pilot, Lt. Ed Fassnacht, the ribbon-haired girl suddenly got quiet.
``There's a lot of buttons and switches, isn't there?'' Fassnacht asked her. ``It's easier to fly this than it is to drive a car. Do you believe that?''
Still quiet, Jasmine nodded her head. Then, in a flash, almost as if afraid the pilot would ask her to take off, she scrambled out of the seat, into the waiting arms of her teacher.
``Next,'' Fassnacht said with a grin.
The Feb. 1 field trip to the helicopter hangar came about after teacher Chris Meissel and his friend, Fassnacht, got to talking about the pre-schoolers' need for male role models. Intrigued with the idea of having the kids see his work place and meeting the pilots in his squadron, Fassnacht got the OK from his commanding officer for the kids to visit.
``Most of these students are being brought up by single mothers,'' Meissel explained. ``They need some positive male role models to spend time with them, especially African-American ones. As you can see, a lot of pilots agreed to come out and join us. This is a rare treat.''
Fassnacht explained: ``Whenever we get a chance to let the kids see what we do, we take it. We like helping out the children.''
As the men talked, across the hangar pilot Kendell Smith was fending off the attacks of five children, eager to try on his hat.
``Here, you go,'' Smith said with a laugh while pulling the hat from his head. ``Try it on.''
Robert Reed unfolded the creased, khaki headgear and placed it on his head. Once the hat was settled, the 4-year-old's face broke into a smile.
``You know, to get one of these you have to go to college,'' Smith informed the boy gently.
``Oh,'' Robert said, slightly deflated.
Then, after mulling over Smith's comment for a few seconds, the pre-schooler furrowed his brow and said, with complete confidence: ``I think I'm going to do that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
Above, 4-year-old James Dillard sits at the controls of a Navy Sea
Dragon helicopter. At left, preschoolers from the
Berkley/Campostella Early Childhood Center tour hangar SP-31 at
Norfolk Naval Air Station.
by CNB