'Flying Vikings' gives special airplane rides for special kids

SUGAR LAND, Texas – A nonprofit organization called "Flying Vikings" is giving children with special needs or chronic illnesses a day of freedom from their limitations.

“The control of a real airplane is pretty powerful,” the founding pilot for Flying Vikings, Paul Hansen, said.

Nearly a dozen pilots are soaring their planes above Anson Aviation in Sugar Land for kids like Kody Noah Elder, who could barely contain his joy for airplanes.

“He's brave, he says,” Glen Elder, Kody Noah’s dad, said.

Kody Noah got to prove his bravery and take control of the four-seater plane he rode. He showed focus and confidence, traits that aren’t always easy to demonstrate for someone with Down Syndrome.

Once the plane landed, he could not stay grounded. He squealed and exclaimed he “flew it!”

“They may not be playing football or baseball but they're flying a plane and that's where the power comes in. It's just unimaginable,” Hansen said.

An unimaginable day brought in by an organization that aims to circle back to Sugar Land once a year, showing kids like these, the sky is no limit.

For more information on the organization, click here.