EVENT TO CELEBRATE 100TH ANNIVERSARY FLIGHT FREE RIDES, TALKS DEMONSTRATIONS SET.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - Days before the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' flight is celebrated in Kitty Hawk, N.C., Van Nuys Airport's tenants and community will celebrate the historic event with a free youth expo highlighting aviation in the San Fernando Valley.

``Kickoff to Kitty Hawk'' will feature free plane rides, demonstrations and talks to encourage a younger generation to consider the world of flying available in the Valley.

``What we want to do is bring the airport together, and the community, and show what we're about,'' said organizer Barbara Cesar, whose company, Syncro Aircraft Interiors, will host the Dec. 13 event in its hangar across from the Van Nuys FlyAway terminal.

``What is so magical about flying is the freedom it gives you - that embodies this country,'' said Cesar, noting the hardships faced by the aviation community after Sept. 11. ``We need to keep boosting, giving back to the aviation community. We need to fight for it and give it back to the kids.''

The event coincides with a nearly weeklong celebration in North Carolina to commemorate that historic day on December 17, 1903, when Orville and Wilbur Wright took to the skies in the first sustained flight, changing aviation history.

At Van Nuys, the event will showcase the aviation community in the Valley - from pilots giving kids rides in their planes to flight school operators discussing what it takes to be a pilot.

Kids will have a chance to board a B-25 bomber that's housed in the Valley and see experimental aircraft put together by Valley builders, organizers said.

There'll also be a quarter-scale model of the famed Wright Flyer and model plane demonstrations, as well as talks, food and events throughout the day.

Elliot L. Sanders, president of the Van Nuys Propeller Aircraft Association, hopes the event will turn a spotlight on the airport to help residents and others understand the resource it can be in the community.

The event comes as the 75-year-old facility has struggled in recent years, with neighbors protesting the noise from jet engines and businesses pushing for a master plan to better guide development in a way that will accommodate the various interests on the airfield.

``I don't think the community around us really understands what this 730 acres is,'' said Sanders, a pilot and insurance broker to some of the tenants. ``They do understand that there's noise issues.... You take it for granted when you go to LAX and jump on a plane, it all started'' at small airports like Van Nuys that launch aviation careers.

The national events in Kitty Hawk, organized by the Experimental Aircraft Association, also celebrates the Young Eagles Program - the international group's initiative launched more than a decade ago to give 1 million kids a free cockpit ride in time for the centennial.

The group reached its goal earlier this month, thanks to Young Eagles Program participants like those local pilots who have been involved.

Valley pilot Ruth Logan, who takes kids up for free rides through Young Eagles and also participates in another youth aviation program at Whiteman Airport, said the experience can be life-changing as it gives young people a new perspective on their opportunities.

``Some kids don't even realize it's a possibility,'' said Logan, also a member of the Ninety-Nines, an international women pilots' group.

At next month's Van Nuys event, Cesar also plans to launch the Ed Cesar Foundation, in memory of her late husband, to support youth flying.

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

If you go: Kick-Off to Kitty Hawk, a youth aviation event, will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 13 at Syncro Aviation Interiors, 7701 Woodley Ave., Van Nuys. For information, call [phone]

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

IF YOU GO (see text)