Helping Their Cares Fly Away

It was all smiles and giggles for 14-year-old Alicia Zapata as she eagerly anticipated her first flight on a small plane Saturday.

“One, two, three, go!” she shrieked, as the aircraft took off, zooming to an altitude of 1,500 feet and heading toward Buena Park. “Yee-haw!”

Alicia, who has Down syndrome, was one of about 400 developmentally and physically disabled people who received free 20-minute plane rides at Fullerton Municipal Airport as part of Eagle Flight 12. The event, sponsored by a number of local charitable and civic groups and volunteers, gives disabled children and adults what often is their first ride in an airplane, organizers said.

With her hand on her forehead and her eyes wide open, Alicia propped herself up in her seat to catch a bird’s-eye view of Knott’s Berry Farm during her ride. “Ooh, God,” she said.

“Do you see Mickey Mouse?” Alicia’s father, Rocky Zapata, asked.

“Nope,” Alicia responded, slapping her father on the knee apparently for getting his characters and amusement parks mixed up. “You’re crazy, Dad.”

The girl then broke into high-pitched, open-mouthed laughter.

When it was over and she was asked if she enjoyed the flight, Alicia simply nodded yes.

That’s what it’s all about, said Beverly Guido-Deutsch, a retired therapeutic recreation supervisor who created Eagle Flight in 1981, the International Year of the Disabled.

“Some of our passengers today are developmentally disabled, some are deaf, some are blind and some are in wheelchairs, and this is something that gives them an opportunity to fly,” she said.

Eagle Flight has grown from modest beginnings to an all-day affair with certificates, games, musicians, Disney characters and carnival foods. The flights are attempted annually but sometimes get fogged out. It was clear skies Saturday, though, and except for some mild Santa Ana winds that caused a little turbulence, participants seemed thrilled.

Nine-year-old Christopher Ayala, who aspires to be a commercial jet pilot, was quite pleased. On his flight, he sat up front with his hands on the controls next to the pilot of a four-seat plane, while his nervous parents sat in back.

“I got to fly all by myself,” said the boy, who suffers from a disease that causes brittle bones. “My dad was scared half to death. He thought I was going to push the pilot out of the way and take over.”

Another passenger stepped out of a single-engine plane with his fist punching the air. He exclaimed, “I love it!”

It’s the reactions of the program’s recipients that get the pilots to donate their time and aircraft for the flights, said Jim Alexander of Fullerton Sunrise Rotary, an organizer of the event.

“I’ve been doing this for six years just to see their expressions,” said pilot Wes Warvi, while helping passengers out of his Bonanza A-36 after his second flight of the day. “I feel like I’m giving them a little happiness.”

In all, sponsors said they expected the pilots to make about 200 flights. They circled over north Orange County landmarks including Disneyland, Anaheim Stadium, and Cal State Fullerton.

Before boarding her flight, Claudia Malmquist, 27, who is developmentally disabled, jumped up and down and excitedly rubbed her hands together. Cairo Ommanney, 18, also developmentally disabled, flew with Malmquist, but wasn’t as enthused. “A plane’s a plane,” he said, chuckling.

For Robert Leber, 50, of Fountain Valley, the flight made him feel like an angel. “It’s like you’re in heaven flapping your wings and looking down on Earth, saying, ‘It’s OK to feel love and peace in your heart.’ ”