aviation

Young Eagles take flight

Young Eagles take flight

Finn, 12, found his wings at Triumph Airfield Saturday, June 1.

Riley Klein

NORTH CANAAN — Aviation enthusiasts achieved lift-off Saturday, June 1, at Triumph Airfield.

The Young Eagles initiative of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) made its first appearance in North Canaan. The program promotes careers in flight to the next generation through hands-on experiences.

First timers got a feel for flying with the assistance of certified pilots. With clear skies, seven airplanes departed the grass runway and brought 32 youth flyers up to altitude over the course of the morning.

Tre Roberti, 14, took flight with EAA Chapter 1097 President Tom Whelan.Riley Klein

The planes reached “about 3,000 feet,” said Chapter President Tom Whelan after touching down with aspiring aviator Tre Roberti, 14, of Kent.

Roberti said he had flown once before and is hoping to become a pilot when he grows up.

“He’s a natural on the stick too,” added Whelan.

Roberti said the quarry to the south of the airstrip stood out as a notable landmark while in flight.

Billy Segalla flew "Ol' Yeller" with Caiden Brewer of North Canaan.Riley Klein

Billy Segalla of Triumph Airfield took Caiden Brewer of North Canaan for his first ever flight.

“Had to take him over the school,” said Segalla, referring to North Canaan Elementary School, at which Brewer is a student. “He loved it.”

Segalla and Brewer flew “Ol’ Yeller,” a bright yellow Piper PA-11 Cub.

“It’s great. We get to bring the younger generation, get them away from the TV and all that to enjoy this,” said Segalla.

Youth aviation enthusiasts got a hands-on experience with the Young Eagles initiative.Riley Klein

A flight with the Young Eagles qualified the co-pilots to begin their Ground Course training with EAA, the first step to becoming air certified. Once the course is completed online, trainees can begin logging flight hours to attain their license.

Inside the hangar, EAA Chapter 1097 reps were handing out certificates to those who took flight. Future pilots got help registering for online ground courses through the EAA headquarters in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

P.J. Whelan of EAA Chapter 1097 said the turnout at Triumph was “one of the best” she had seen. She said the Young Eagles initiative is a great opportunity to introduce the next generation to the aviation industry.

Copies of “Aviore” comic books, an aviation superhero series created by Stan Lee specifically for the Young Eagles program, were available free of charge.

Air traffic was busy at Triumph June 1.Riley Klein

aviation

Latest News

Living art takes center stage in the Berkshires

Living art takes center stage in the Berkshires

Contemporary chamber musicians, HUB, performing at The Clark.

D.H. Callahan

Northwestern Massachusetts may sometimes feel remote, but last weekend it felt like the center of the contemporary art world.

Within 15 miles of each other, MASS MoCA in North Adams and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown showcased not only their renowned historic collections, but an impressive range of living artists pushing boundaries in technology, identity and sound.

Keep ReadingShow less
writer's notebook

Persistently amplifying women’s voices

Persistently amplifying women’s voices

Francesca Donner, founder and editor of The Persistent. Subscribe at thepersistent.com.

Aly Morrissey

Francesca Donner pours a cup of tea in the cozy library of Troutbeck’s Manor House in Amenia, likely a habit she picked up during her formative years in the United Kingdom. Flanked by old books and a roaring fire, Donner feels at home in the quiet room, where she spends much of her time working as founder, editor and CEO of The Persistent, a journalism platform created to amplify women’s voices.

Although her parents are American and she spent her earliest years in New York City and Litchfield County — even attending Washington Montessori School as a preschooler — Donner moved to England at around five years old and completed most of her education there. Her accent still bears the imprint of what she describes as a traditional English schooling.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Jarrett Porter on the enduring power of Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’

Jarrett Porter on the enduring power of Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’
Baritone Jarrett Porter to perform Schubert’s “Winterreise”
Tim Gersten

On March 7, Berkshire Opera Festival will bring “Winterreise” to Studio E at Tanglewood’s Linde Center for Music and Learning, with baritone Jarrett Porter and BOF Artistic Director and pianist Brian Garman performing Franz Schubert’s haunting 24-song setting of poems by Wilhelm Müller.

A rejected lover. A frozen landscape. A mind unraveling in real time. Nearly 200 years after its premiere, “Winterreise” remains unnervingly current in its psychological portrait of isolation, heartbreak and existential drift.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

A grand finale for Crescendo’s 22nd season

A grand finale for Crescendo’s 22nd season

Christine Gevert, artistic director, brings together international and local musicians for a season of rare works.

Stephen Potter

Crescendo, the Lakeville-based nonprofit specializing in early and rarely performed classical music, will close its 22nd season with a slate of spring concerts featuring international performers, local musicians and works by pioneering composers from the Baroque era to the 20th century.

Christine Gevert, the organization’s artistic director, has gathered international vocal and instrumental talent, blending it with local voices to provide Berkshire audiences with rare musical treats.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts

Leopold Week honors land and legacy

Leopold Week honors land and legacy

Aldo Leopold in 1942, seated at his desk examining a gray partridge specimen.

Robert C. Oetking

In his 1949 seminal work, “A Sand County Almanac,” Aldo Leopold, regarded by many conservationists as the father of wildlife ecology and modern conservation, wrote, “There are some who can live without wild things and some who cannot.” Leopold was a forester, philosopher, conservationist, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast.

Originally published by Oxford University Press, “A Sand County Almanac” has sold 2 million copies and been translated into 15 languages. On Sunday, March 8, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Norfolk Library, the public is invited to a community reading of selections from the book followed by a moderated discussion with Steve Dunsky, director of “Green Fire,” an Emmy Award-winning documentary film exploring the origins of Leopold’s “land ethic.” Similar reading events take place each year across the country during “Leopold Week” in early March. Planning for this Litchfield County reading began when the Norfolk Library received a grant from the Aldo Leopold Foundation, which provided copies of “A Sand County Almanac” to distribute during the event.

Keep ReadingShow less
book talk

Erica Child Prud’homme

Erica Child Prud’homme

WEST CORNWALL — Erica Child Prud’homme died peacefully in her sleep on Jan. 9, 2026, at home in West Cornwall, Connecticut, at 93.

Erica was born on April 27, 1932, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the eldest of three children of Charles and Fredericka Child. With her siblings Rachel and Jonathan, Erica was raised in Lumberville, a town in the creative enclave of Bucks County where she began to sketch and paint as a child.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.