Other than when he dunked the basketball or played around with his older siblings; Eric Avery had never been off the ground. That stood true until the afternoon of August 23rd. Eric and his mom Erika were two of the first people who had the honor to ride on the maiden voyage of the new Goodyear Blimp, Wingfoot One.
It was a beautiful morning in Akron. As the afternoon’s comforting clouds slowly lumbered their way across Portage Lakes, Eric had a special chat with Goodyear’s head pilot, Mr. Jerry. Although Eric has never flown in a plane and was a bit anxious about heights; his conversation with Mr. Jerry put him at ease and he was unbelievably excited to get up in the air! And boy, did he go up…
On Eric’s first flight he flew over his house, his school (Sieberling CLC), and Goodyear’s headquarters!
"Can we do it again, Mom?" Eric shouted in elation as he disembarked. After only one flight, Eric was a pro.
While Eric enjoyed his flight, there was another engineering marvel that caught his eye. Eric was enamored by the gigantic 100 year old blimp hanger whose presence dominated the grounds. Why was he interested in the hangar? Eric told us that he wants to be an architect!
Eric earned this awesome opportunity for him and his mom by keeping his PROMISE and had perfect attendance at the tech camp Mr. LeBron and APS held this month. Eric turned 11 on Tuesday and is eager to get back into the classroom to see his friends and meet his new teachers!
