San Antonio students enrolled in WestCare Texas’ Summer Extravaganza program experienced firsthand what it takes to fly an aircraft on Wednesday, thanks to the San Antonio International Airport’s mobile flight simulator.
About 48 students between 12 and 15 years old stood in line for their turn to board the flight simulator— a small, yellow trailer parked in the parking lot at the Ella Austin Community Center on the East Side. Waiting to get their hands on the yoke, each student watched the person before them and listened to the instructor to guide them.
WestCare Texas is a national nonprofit with Texas headquarters at the Ella Austin Community Center and — apart from the annual Summer Extravaganza program — generally focuses on mental health, juvenile crime prevention, and HIV prevention and awareness. Tuition for the summer program is covered for all students.
The nonprofit partnered with the airport to provide the youth with an experience to provide inspiration for their futures.
The idea is to get kids planning, said Beverly Watts Davis, senior vice president of WestCare Texas. “In order to get to be a pilot, that means, ‘I’ve got to go to school. I’ve got to finish school. Maybe I need to go to a trade school or college.'”
“As long as you’re thinking that way, all the decisions along will help change the trajectory of their life, whether they’re a pilot or not,” Watts Davis said. “But at least they’re able to visualize that they can be something more than what they just see on their street block.”
The mobile flight simulator is part of the airport’s aviation equity initiative, established in 2021, that aims to inspire disadvantaged boys and girls and connect them to local aviation organizations to boost their interest in careers in the industry.
The flight simulator program was developed by students and other nonprofit organizations under Eric Warner, the airport’s special projects manager.
Warner sat next to each student in the simulator’s “cockpit” to guide them. He started each “flight” by breaking down the parts of the plane: the yoke, which is used to steer the aircraft; the rudders, which control the direction of the aircraft; and the throttle, a lever that controls speed. Three large computer screens provided a virtual view of the sky.
Warner said the program boosts equity in the skies, starting with kids.
“We really wanted to focus on the next generation of aviators and pilots, and the only way to do that is to come up with a tool that will lead kids to believe: ‘I never thought I could be a pilot, but I did very well in the simulator and I can join these other organizations that will take me to that next level,’” he said.
Fourteen-year-old Xitali Garcia flew the aircraft longer than her peers and scored high percentages during takeoff and climb performance, thanks to an aerospace and aviation class she took at Francis Scobee Middle School. With two hands on the yoke and focused on the view ahead, Xitali knew what she was doing.
“Excellent,” Warner said, encouraging her as two other students watched. He used that same patience with students who couldn’t seem to get the hang of the simulator. “It’s OK, take your time.”
Once Xitali surpassed her peer’s time, another student, Phillip Haynes, jokingly said, “It’s because she has experience!”
“It’s not that hard,” Xitali said. “Once you get used to it, then you’re able know more about it.”
She’s interested in becoming a pilot, and she said the program helped her discover that.
“It’s good because it can help [students] pursue their dreams and help them understand what they want to be,” Xitali said. “If they want to be a pilot, they can understand more the conception of it.”
Xitali said that if she wasn’t enrolled in the summer program, she would probably be spending her time at home sleeping.
Watts Davis grew up on the East Side, and also serves on the board of directors at the Ella West Community Center.
“We are in a time when so many of our young children are being recruited to be in gangs and to deal drugs. I honestly felt we needed to fight for our kids,” she said. “Last year, when we began to do this, kids had another positive alternative and the juvenile crime rate went down in our area.”
“That told me that if we gave people an option, they could do better and hopefully save some of our kids from being dead or in jail later on in their life,” she said.
Watts Davis pointed out that the program is based on the Eastside Promise Zone, a 22-square mile geographic area on the East Side of San Antonio. In 2014, President Barack Obama designated San Antonio as one of the first five Promise Zones, nationally recognized due to it being a high-poverty sector.
Watts Davis said all of the kids in the summer program are Black or Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, and face disparities compared to their white counterparts.
In the program, the kids learn about math, science, and reading. They’re provided breakfast, lunch and a snack, and they take field trips every Friday. The group has been to the San Antonio Botanical Garden, the Natural Bridge Caverns and SeaWorld.
“Their parents can’t afford to send them any place else. They can’t afford any other camps,” Watts Davis said. “We can give the families comprehensive services and wrap them around in services that help them move to the next level.”
As she spoke about wraparound services, volunteers with the San Antonio Food Bank handed out boxes of food at an ongoing drive-thru food distribution event happening on the other side of the parking lot. Watts Davis said the effort was commissioned by the Ella Austin Community Center.
The mobile flight simulator will head to the Trailblazer Cafe at the Stinson Municipal Airport on Aug. 5 to teach Soar program students about aviation. Events are open to the public, but sign-up is recommended.
Another flight simulator event will happen exclusively for girls on Sept. 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Joint Base San Antonio Kelly Field. RSVP is required through Torch Athena.
