Kids are Pilots for the Day at Don Scott Airport in Columbus, OH

My second guest blogger is a friend from my playgroup and an Organist-extraordinaire (Yes! I know one of those!!): Sara Seidel wrangles two kids, four cats, and a husband. She spends her grown-up time as Organist and Director of Music at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Columbus, Ohio.

M & M are modes-of-transportation fiends. I realize that we must have nurtured this in them, but it catches me by surprise sometimes: I don’t particularly think of either Ted or myself as such…

A perfect morning for M & M consists of Cheerios with six pieces of Cracklin’ Oat Bran on top and a car ride to spot trains or watch airplanes come and go at Don Scott Airport (Don Scott Airport or Don Scott is the nickname for The Ohio State University Airport at Don Scott Field.). Ted, thinking that an airport tour would be a fun surprise for M & M, poked about online, and soon there appeared in my inbox a meeting request for a Hangar Tour at The OSU Airport, followed by a separate email with the necessary release forms for each child.

The following Wednesday we had Cheerios with six pieces of Cracklin’ Oat Bran on top and headed over to Don Scott Airport.  The tour was perfectly proportioned for two pint-sized pilots. Although the website indicates tours of an hour’s length, our guide (Meredith, brisk and cute) tailored the length and walking distance to fit our two tiny crew members. We trekked across the lawn, through the flight school, and into the student hangar.

M & M were in awe.

They got to explore the cockpits of a Cessna 172 (Meredith compared it to piloting a minivan: functional, but not that cute) and a Cessna 152 (This one is kind of like driving a Pinto, she said, somewhat ruefully). And their exploration was completely hands-on: Try this – see what’s happening on the wings? And look here – watch the tail when you do that!

We also got a peek inside one of the corporate hangars, but that was a strictly hands-in-pockets experience. Still, we compared jet engines with turbo-props and counted windows to guess the number of passengers that would fit on each plane (a surprisingly inaccurate method of deduction, by the way).

Our mini-tour was less than 45 minutes – ideal for the attention spans of M & M who are under 3-1/2. Those of you with more time to spend can finish out your adventure with a climb up to the observation tower (fully equipped with coloring pages and crayons) and lunch at Barnstormers, a very casual restaurant located at the airport.

The Ohio State University Airport at Don Scott Field

2160 West Case Road

Columbus, Ohio 43235

1.800.777.5488

Flight Information:

• OSU Airport Tours are scheduled by appointment, and they are free.
• You will need to fill out a release form for each child on the tour.
• Tours are technically for ages 5 years and older, but we found them to be very accommodating when we offered a 1:1 parent-to-child ratio. Moral: Ask and ye shall receive (probably).
• No strollers allowed, and touching planes is prohibited, unless invited to do so. That being said, M & M were invited to touch plenty of things!
• Tours are rain-or-shine, so come prepared for the weather you see.
• Kids 10 and older can go up for short flights!