Children with the curiosity of the Wright brothers will get a chance to take to the sky at the annual Fly-In at the Bremerton airport on Saturday.

As part of the international Young Eagles Program, children will get first-hand experience flying in a small aircraft.

“The Fly-In is a pilot’s way to introduce kids to flight,” said Port Orchard pilot Lenn Richter. “It’s one of the best ways to get them started and to give them a chance to see what flying is like.”

Pilots donate their time, knowledge, equipment and fuel to the program. The annual event flies an average of 110 children per year, all at no cost to the young aviators.

Since obtaining his pilot’s license 20 years ago, Richter has given more than 730 children the experience of flight. He isn’t sure how many of them have gone on to obtain their pilot’s license, but he hopes at least some caught the flying-bug and pursued aviation as a hobby or career.

On Saturday, children ages 8-17 will attend a brief ground school and then have the opportunity to take to the skies with an experienced pilot. Richter said the flights usually last around 20 minutes and fly over the shipyards and Port Orchard, circle around to Vashon Island and then back to Bremerton.

“The whole thing is to build up a rapport with the kids and show them what it’s like,” Richter said.

And of course children being children, the pilots are prepared to answer endless questions such as “How do you steer?” “How do you know how high we are?” “Are you ever afraid?”

So, are you?

“I tell them that before the new Tacoma Narrows bridge was built, it bothered me more to cross the bridge than it did for me to fly,” Richter said. “I didn’t feel in control and felt hemmed-in.”

Another common question is about the expense of owning your own plane. While obtaining your pilot’s license will set you back between $6,000 and $7,000, Richter said that maintaining an airplane isn’t anymore expensive than taking care of a boat.

“The rest of the cost is about how much you want to put into your hobby,” he said. “I know hunters who spend more money hunting than I do on my airplane.”

Richter encourages the children to ask questions. He enjoys their inquisitive minds. And after flying 730 of them he’s been asked a lot.

“There was a kid who was very interested in flying and when we landed, we began talking about some of the planes on the field, some of which were new. As we walked away from my plane, he looked up at me and said, ‘When you’re older are you going to buy a better plane?’ It was both a compliment and a slap in the face in the same sentence. How old did he think I was?” (For the record, Richter is 72 years old, and also for the record, he’s very fond of the plane he has.)

Richter, who raised seven children of his own, waited to get his pilot’s license until his youngest child graduated from high school. He received his license the same month his daughter graduated.

“I enjoyed being with my family so much that when this opportunity to fly and work with kids came about, it was a godsend,” Richter said.

His relationships with the children extends past the Fly-in. Richter, who dabbles a bit in art, crafts Christmas cards to send to the young flyers. In the card he sends a message of encouragement.

“I like to put a little bit of philosophy in the cards,” he said. “My favorite one was, ‘There is not greater deterrent to freedom than those who will not exercise their freedom. So spread your wings. The world is yours.”