It was cloudy at the Reading Regional Airport Saturday morning, but Mason Esterly, 9, was beaming like the sun after his first ever flight on a Cessna.
As he crossed the airfield, Esterly’s grin was noticeable from inside the terminal, where his mother, Madison Harrison, waited to hear about the fun he obviously had on the plane ride.
“That was my first time on a little airplane,” Esterly, of Fleetwood, said. “I’m definitely going to do it again…it was an eleven out of ten.”
Esterly’s newfound love of flying is well-suited to his goal of becoming a pilot one day.
He, along with his friend Hazel Tempesco, 9, were one of hundreds of kids who took to the skies Saturday morning as part of Reading Airport’s annual Christmas in the Air program.
Introducing kids to aviation is the goal of the event, airport officials said, and it’s why the airport has partnered with the Experimental Aircraft Association, an aviation enthusiast organization, to host the event since the 1990s.
The free event is an offshoot of the EAA’s Young Eagles program, where kids aged 8 to 17 get a taste of aviation via free introductory flights on small aircraft.
“We just make it bigger and do more coordination to do (the flights) at one time,” said Airport Director Zackary Tempesco.
Christmas in the Air saw 13 planes ferrying excited fliers into the clouds and back on short round trips.
Pilot Nate Stoddard was behind the yoke on one of the planes.
He said the event gives him an excuse to flex his wings on the weekend, and he gets a kick out of seeing kids react to flying.
“Some (kids) are scared, others are smiling,” Stoddard said with a laugh.
Kids had another incentive to come to the airport Saturday too—free toys.
“We’ve given away over 300 toys (today),” Tempesco said. “We have over 300 goodie bags we’re giving away to the kids.”
Santa and Mrs. Klaus also swung by the event to take gift requests.
Reclining on a stack of presents, the two Klauses asked brothers Owen and Mason Arza what was on their Christmas lists.
Owen Arza, 7, said he was looking forward to adding a new red slushie cup to his collection.
“My brother has one but I want a different color,” Arza clarified. “He has blue.”
Mason Arza, 10, was less decisive about his gift choice this year, noting that he was taking his time to think it over and make the right choice.
Their dad, Jose Arza, said he appreciated the Airport’s efforts in putting the event together.
“It was fun, we think it’s pretty good for the kids, some of them don’t have chances to fly,” Arza said. “It’s awesome.”
The event also featured craft tables, where a large Pikachu helped kids make paper snowflakes and planes.
Over 70 volunteers came together to make the event happen this year, Tempesco said.
They included Deb and Fred Gurman, a vocalist and flute duet who played holiday songs to guests.
Fred Gurman—who worked as an air traffic controller at the Reading Airport before retiring—said he’s been volunteering at the event since 1998.
“It’s a wonderful energy here,” Deb Gurman said. “All the volunteers have their hearts so in it, it’s so wonderful seeing all the kids, the children’s faces when they come off their first flight.”
Tempesco said putting on Christmas in the Air comes down to fun, at the end of the day.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” Tempesco said.
Sponsors of the event included Tompkins Financial Advisors, Wawa, and Construction Masters Services, Sinking Spring.