Airplane ride puts boy on cloud nine
Jaxson Jaki and his father, Kris, prepare for takeoff Saturday at the youngster’s birthday party at Finleyville Airport.
Pilot Tom Riemer, left, and Kris Jaki help Kris’s son Jaxson get into his seat during his birthday party Saturday at Finleyville Airport.
Daria Digorio-Wojnovich and her son, Ashton, 4, accompanied by Ashton’s brother, Aiden, prepare to take off from Finleyville Airport Saturday.
Jaxson Jaki had a birthday party that would blow out the candles on most kids’ celebrations.
On Saturday, six days before his actual natal anniversary, Jaxson shared a festive fourth birthday with parents, relatives, preschool friends and their families at Finleyville Airport. Wings were the main course – airplane wings.
The more than 30 partygoers, from preschoolers to grandparents, had the option of taking a plane ride with Tom Riemer, manager of the airport, and fellow pilot Doug Campbell of Jefferson Hills. Each excursion lasted about 15 minutes, was generally conducted 2,200 to 3,000 feet up and included views of downtown Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning and Allegheny County Airport.
At least one family saw their home from a much different point – above.
“This was my idea. I’m a little unconventional,” Jennifer Jaki, Jaxson’s mother, said with an easy laugh. A year ago, she and her husband, Kris, threw a third birthday bash for their only child at another attractive venue, Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.
Saturday’s location was atypical of a kids’ party, but revelry still reigned. At least half of the party attendees went off into the wild blue yonder, typically three squeezing into one of the two small planes with a pilot.
The novelty of the proceedings was inspired by Jaxson. “He likes anything that moves and goes fast,” Kris said.
Jennifer said, “We live on a farm (near Finleyville) and Jaxson rides on the tractor with his dad. He does pretty much what dad does.”
To satisfy his son’s interest, Kris accompanied Jaxson into Riemer’s plane. It was going to be the youngster’s first flight and he appeared a little uneasy, but mostly happy.
Jennifer Jaki’s quest to do something different this year blended perfectly with Riemer’s desire to promote the airport. It is a small, public-use facility that, according to its website, offers “fuel, maintenance, flight instruction-aircraft rental, and hangar and tie-down rentals.”
In an operation in which visibility is paramount to flying, Finleyville Airport has low public visibility. Public shows and fly-ins were dropped this year, and Riemer, a former American Airlines captain, said a lot of people simply aren’t familiar with aviation.
“People say, ‘Finleyville has an airport?'” Riemer said. “Many don’t realize this is here. We tell people, ‘Hey, see what we are.’ Airlines are not finding pilots and people are unaware of what these flying experiences are about.
“We try to introduce aviation to people. Any opportunity we get to promote it is a goal. We’ve had Boy Scout troops here. We’re doing this party privately as a way of keeping the airport viable. We may give 20, 25, 30 rides, then in a couple of weeks, someone may ask, ‘How do I get flying lessons?'”
Riemer, a frequent flier who lives in Winchester, Va., said the general public does not realize that a number of pilots of small private planes have flown relief supplies to the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, Texas and other recently storm-ravaged regions. It is easier for them to get into those areas than anything on the ground.
On a warm sunlit Saturday, the pilots at Finleyville Airport hope they opened eyes about navigating the sky – while helping to provide a little boy with a birthday he may never forget.