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Kiwanis ‘Challenge Air’ Project
The Kiwanis “Challenge Air” team: Robert and Nick Berkuta,
Diane DellaValle, Carl Christiansen and Paul Westmoreland.
Twenty two volunteer pilots
recently flew 116 special needs children
from the Los Angeles area,
joined by 123 adults, 29 friends and
siblings, out of Whiteman Airport for
30-minute flights over Magic
Mountain and Newhall pass as part of
the “Challenge Air for Kids and
Friends” project.
The physically and developmentally
challenged kids were able to hold
the controls and fly the plane themselves.
The kids were accompanied by
adults, friends and siblings on the
flights.
The event was sponsored by the
Kiwanis Club of La Cañada,
Southwest Airlines, Starbucks,
Washington Mutual and Hollywood
aviators. Kiwanis Club members and
Flintridge Preparatory School Key
Club Members served as coordinators
and assisted the pilots when the planes
were on the ground.
After receiving a lecture on safety,
each team was assigned to a single
plane and pilot for the day.
Participants were Kiwanis Club
President Carl Christensen, Vice
President Nick Berkuta and his son,
Robert, past presidents Diane Della
Valle and Paul Westmoreland and Key
Club members Shannon Thomas
(president), Erin Loadvine (vice president),
Andrea Shea and Brandon Win.
The children were awarded wings,
pinned on by the pilot, and a signed
certificate that certifies that they had
flown an airplane.
In addition to the flying, there
were activities for the kids to enjoy
from static aircraft, a bounce house, canine companions, face painting
and crafts. Hot dogs were provided
by Hot Diggity Dog and hamburgers
by In-N-Out Burgers.
Challenge Air for Kids and
Friends, an all-volunteer organization,
conducts 16 events a year
across the country. It was started by
Rick Amber, a sports enthusiast and
Navy fighter pilot, who lost the use
of his legs after crashing a plane in a
combat mission while serving in
Vietnam.
Amber, who died in 1997,
launched the non-profit group 15
years ago so that disabled people
could see the world from a different
point of view.
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