Greetings! We just got back from the Kansas City Fly Day where we flew 70 kiddos with special needs. It was a beautiful day and it was incredible to be back up in the air.  We want to send out a huge thank you to our sponsors, volunteers and the 9 pilots who performed miracles on Saturday!  A special shout out to Marc LaVoie, the DJ from Party Pro, who stayed and played music until the last co-pilot flew. Also, special thanks to Lt. Col Shannon Brown and the 40 Civil Air Patrol Cadets and Senior members from the Harry S. Truman Composite Squadron.  They helped set-up, clean-up, direct parking, provide ramp security, marshall and take out trash! We certainly couldn't accomplish these events without your community support. Be sure to watch a recap from Kansas City Fly Day event below. If you have photos from the event you would like to share with Challenge Air. Please send these to Bailey.Cole@challengeair.org or tag us on social media #givekidswings #challengeair.   Best Regards, April Culver, CEO/Executive Director

2021 Fly Day Updates! Due to the ongoing pandemic, local committees have made the difficult decision to cancel the upcoming Atlanta, GA Fly Day scheduled on October 16th and the Conroe, TX Fly Day on Saturday, November 13, 2021. We hope to reschedule these events in 2022. We are still a GO for Denver, Tulsa and Mesquite. You may register below for these cities. Please note, all schedule changes will be passed along via email and social media, as well as on the website.

Register For an Open Event Here

Safety Procedure Updates Challenge Air takes the health and safety of our pilots, co-pilots, family members and volunteers very seriously. Challenge Air follows local and national guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at all events. For the safety of everyone, regardless of vaccination status, Challenge Air is recommending that all volunteers and participants wear a mask throughout the event.  All event participants will meet outside when appropriate, and maintain a social distance to mitigate the spread of COVID. We also ask all pilots to sanitize cockpits before and after each mission. The hangar will be cleaned periodically throughout the day in high-traffic areas. Access to hand sanitizer and restrooms for hand-washing will be available. If a community is experiencing a COVID breakout, the event would be postponed to a safer date.

Calling All Pilots! Kids with Special Needs Want YOU to Help Them Fly an Airplane

Remember the last time you flew with Challenge Air? Do you remember the smiles that were created because you gave a child with special needs an opportunity to fly an airplane? Won't you please consider flying for us again in Denver, Tulsa or Mesquite? It's been a crazy time for everyone and we'd love to offer something for our co-pilots to look forward do. Read the impact you have not only the Co-Pilots but each family too..

"Today is the first day of school around here and, while we absolutely love and appreciate all that our educators do for our kids it can be a nerve wracking time as a parent of a special needs child. Hoping that everything goes well each and every day. Standardized testing wasn’t built for our kids. When the amazing pilot that worked with our daughter said some of the wonderful things he did to her on the day of her event, as a mom, being able to sit in the back of that plane and just listen to his encouragement was amazing and brought tears to my eyes! Tears neither one of them ever saw. I know that standardized tests and classrooms can never contain what these children are capable of and this event and these volunteers truly embody that! Thank you!- Tricia M Sign up to Volunteer Today!

A LASTING IMPRESSION!

"[The fly day] was so fun! Thank you! Our kiddo, Katarina, even dressed up her balloon from the event because she had so much fun she wanted to keep her “friend”- Tricia M "I get really emotional thinking about how many kids life’s you all have changed. My two kids had the time of there life today with their dad and the pilot and all the volunteers. Thank you all for doing this, it really means the world not just to the kids, but also there parents. without your help, this would never been possible and the kids wouldn’t get this opportunity. A lot of these kids come in with many challenges and to be able to have one day that is amazing as this and to see there faces and how happy they are is amazing.." - Amber B

"Challenge Air is beautifully inclusive and their pilots are beautiful souls!" - Susan L

Let's Be Social #Givekidswings

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