Freedom’s Wings gives fliers with disabilities a chance to take the controls

A Bucks County airfield gave about a dozen people with disabilities and their families a day in the sky.

By Christian Icaza
Aggie Insider Multimedia Reporter

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On a warm fall day, Fritz Zahringer sat in his wheelchair at the edge of a grassy airfield as a plane descended behind him.

He had just been up there himself, and for part of the flight he was the one flying it.

Zahringer, of Rye, New York, said that while his wheelchair may limit him on the ground, getting up in the air fills him with “a sense of freedom that I can’t experience anywhere else.”

“It’s absolutely incredible being up there,” he said.

Zahringer was one of about a dozen participants who came to Van Sant Airport in Tinicum Township on Sept. 30 to fly with Freedom’s Wings. The nonprofit makes flight possible for people with physical and mental disabilities.

“I was driving part of the time, and when I wasn’t driving I was enjoying the peace and the view,” he said. “It’s very blissful.”

For many people with disabilities, aviation can feel out of reach, whether the barrier is getting through an airport or learning to fly. Freedom’s Wings works to remove those barriers. The organization offers introductory flights for first-timers and flight training for those who want to go further.

That second option is what set the day apart for Zahringer. Participants can take the controls themselves, using hand controls, and some go on to work toward a pilot’s license.

The gliders have no engine, so the flights are quiet, and with hand controls, a pilot who doesn’t have use of their legs can still fly. Freedom’s Wings holds flight days like this two to three times a year, an organizer said, and runs weekday training sessions for students working toward their license.

“Going forward potentially getting your license, which I may actually do,” Zahringer said.

He wants to see more chances like this one.

“I think we should have as many of these as possible out there for people in wheelchairs and with disabilities,” he said.

For first-time flier Matt Ferber, the nerves gave way quickly.

“I just had fun, I felt very free and open,” Ferber said. “Once I got relaxed, it was a good time.”

His advice for anyone curious about Freedom’s Wings is simple.

“I would say come and try it, please try it. If you don’t like it that’s fine, but go for it. Be free and just feel open,” he said.

The day came together through a partnership between Freedom’s Wings and Peter Gagliardo, adapted sports and recreation coordinator at Helen Hayes Hospital in West Haverstraw, New York, who works with the group to bring participants to the airfield. Many of the riders the hospital brings have spinal cord injuries.

“I mean most able-bodied people have probably never been in a glider plane before, and here we are with wheelchair users, spinal cord, strokes and amputees up in the air and free as a bird,” Gagliardo said.

Like many aviation nonprofits, Freedom’s Wings runs on volunteers. They handle ground operations, prepare aircraft, and help participants in and out of the cockpit. Volunteer pilots and instructors fly the passenger rides and teach the students.

For the pilots, the payoff goes both ways.

“It’s mutual, very rewarding taking up people in the air like this and see their excitement,” said Ludo Adons, a volunteer pilot.

Gil Frost, president of Freedom’s Wings, said the participants are what keep him coming back.

“The participants are the most enthusiastic passengers you’ll ever have,” Frost said. “It’s just a win win win for me. I got hooked on it 25 years ago and I haven’t looked back.”

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