LAKELAND, Fla. — Colby Lee wants to fly jets in the Navy.
"So this is giving me early experience so I can have an edge up on flight school," says Colby while sitting in the cockpit of a banana yellow L-18C Super Cub plane.
"This" is the Lakeland Aero Club, the largest youth flying club in the world. The nonprofit is open to all young people ages 14 to 24, no matter their experience.
They just need to have a diehard love of planes, like 17-year-old Matthew Diem.
"I love to work on airplanes," Matthew says, getting his hands dirty tinkering with a plane's engine. "Back at home, none of my family are into aviation."
These are his kinds of people at the all-are-welcome club located on the sprawling campus of the Sun 'N Fun Expo.
Thanks to a team of mentors, kids at the clubhouse can learn all facets of aviation and maybe even fly a plane. (Or at least fly one in the on-site simulator.)
For more information on the Lakeland Aero Club, click here.
