So despite the fact that she is afraid of heights, when her mother, MaryJac Reed, a science teacher at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, suggested in June 2009 that Kira take advantage of Chapter 27 Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) free chance to pilot a lightweight plane, “I said, ‘You have to ask?’” recalled Kira. 

“It was an amazing experience. I got to pilot the plane for two or three minutes and it was an incredible feeling. I hadn’t thought about flying before, but now, it’s my passion,” said Kira. “I was really nervous and thought about not going when it was my turn. Then we lifted off and it was so smooth … It was different than anything I had ever experienced.” That hands-on flight sparked an enthusiasm for aviation in the young woman that has only grown stronger over the past year and a half. Following the flight, she began attending meetings with the Meriden EAA group, and became a member when she turned 16.

This spring, Chapter 27, EAA, Middletown, out of Meriden Airport, sponsored Kira to attend the EAA Advanced Air Academy in Oshkosh, Wis., where she had the opportunity to take part in workshops and classes related to the art and science of aviation, and meet aviation professionals.

“I think some of the kids thought it was going to be all about piloting a plane, but it was so much more,” Kira said. “We talked about theoretical physics, learned to read detailed airplane weather systems, and in a metal workshop, we built a spark plug case,” she said. During the July 30 to August 9 camp, she and 49 other young aviation enthusiasts also built a rib for the wing of a lightweight plane during a woodworking class, and learned to find the center of gravity on a plane.

Each day was something new and different at the EAA Advanced Air Academy, she said, including outdoor activities like the rope course.

“It was to build strength and confidence, but climbing up this towerlike part of it or the wall climbing, it was impossible for me to do. I don’t know how I can stand to be up in an airplane. But when I am, I’m not afraid,” she laughed.

She did have to force herself to get into the 47 Bell helicopter when the opportunity arose at the academy. The snug, three-person aircraft had no doors, so she opted to sandwich herself in between two friends. She was pleasantly surprised by the experience.

“I thought it would be really bumpy, but it didn’t feel at all jerky. It was more like you were floating,” said Kira.

Best of all, though, said Kira, was her second behind-the-wheel flight.

“We each had the chance to fly a Skycatcher, a two-person lightweight plane that is one of only eight like it in the world. It’s amazing, being the pilot. You see everything below you, and when you turn and see that there is nothing beneath you, it’s amazing. You can control where you are going and how far you tip. It’s not at all like being a passenger in a jet plane,” said Kira, who has traveled on planes with her family since she was a little girl.

The camp took place during the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010, billed as “the world’s largest and most exciting aviation event,” and Kira would not disagree. The air show and fair included tours of military War Birds, planes from the 1950s, home-built planes, and a huge military C-17, so large that Kira was incredulous.

“I didn’t think there was any way a plane like that could ever take off. But during the demonstration of one, it was amazingly agile,” she said. She also kept one eye open for actor Harrison Ford during the event. “He is president for the Young Eagles of EAA, and he supposedly comes to the AirVenture every year, but no one even notices him,” Kira said.

She was, however, privy to a personal visit from Dick Rutan, who along with Jeana Yeager piloted the Voyager, the first plane to fly around the world nonstop, without refueling, in 1986. “He just came over to our lunch table one day and sat down. It was very cool,” she said.

Like most young people her age, she is working on getting her driving permit and license, but unlike her peers, Kira is also studying with an on-line ground school, provided by EAA.

“It teaches you all of the mechanics of a plane, how everything in the cockpit is related to the parts outside of the plane, the routine preflight check list, and that sort of thing. If I pass, I can apply for lessons at a local airport. I hope to do that sometime,” said Kira.

Her experience at the Air Academy showed her how many people are interested in aviation, and how many opportunities there are in the industry, said Kira, especially for young women.

“There were a lot more girls at the camp than I thought there would be — probably 20 out of 50. We were all just as enthusiastic as the guys who went. I think the aviation industry is looking for more diversity, so this is a good time for young women to be looking at this,” Kira said.

Junior year in high school is a time of decisionmaking, and right now, Kira is planning to apply to the Coast Guard Academy, in hopes of being accepted, and learning there to fly.

“I don’t know where I’ll go, but I do want to go somewhere that offers a way to get a pilot’s license,” she said. “I know I want to fly.”