US teen shares his passion for aviation with other students

Shelby, North Carolina: Johnathan Bailey learned to fly before he knew how to drive a car.
“I’ve been flying my whole life,” he said. “As long as I can remember.”
The 17-year-old Shelby High student grew up around planes — his father was in the Air Force and worked at the Shelby airport. Now, he wants to share his passion with his peers and hopefully attract more kids his age to the tarmac.
Bailey has spearheaded a class to teach basic aviation skills to county high schoolers. Local pilots have offered to donate their time to help teach and guest speakers, including Vietnam pilots, will also make appearances.
“Every kid that joins gets to fly,” he said.
“It’s kind of a select group, but I want to open it up to more people,” Bailey said.
Chris Davidson, the squadron commander for Shelby’s Civil Air Patrol, said the experience would change a young person’s life.
“Once you go up, you very rarely come back down,” he said. Davidson first flew in 1993 and said, “I still have my head stuck in the clouds.”
Much of Bailey’s life centers on airplanes. He’s a volunteer at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, has traveled with air shows all over the country and is a member of the Civil Air Patrol of Shelby.
He’s built relationships with many pilots who will volunteer their time to help teach.
Jim Zazas is one of those pilots. He met Bailey while flying World War II area aircraft. He currently flies commercially for U.S. Airways and for museums across the nation.
“We have to pass the torch, so to speak,” he said. “Aviation is the way of our future for transportation.”
25/10/07 Drew Brooks/Shelby Star, NC, US