From the President

 

Warrenton-Fauquier Airport has invited us to conduct another Young Eagles Rally at their facility. Manager Dave Huss has graciously offered use of the terminal and ramp which are a natural fit for our operation. The terminal provides plenty of room for our registration area. The patio and gated fence make for a perfectly safe observation and staging area. We are planning to conduct our April Young Eagles rally on April 20 at HWY from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM. We are providing literature to the local schools explaining our Young Eagles program. Parents of Fauquier School kids aged 8 to 17 will access the usual yeday.org system for registration. This will allow us to introduce these kids to our slice of general aviation.

We had a very successful, safe and fun rally at Warrenton last September. Let’s do that again. Please consider helping out as a volunteer for the April 20 Young Eagles Rally at Warrenton airport. We would like to make this a big rally. Our cancelled event for March had over 60 kids registered. We would like to see a similar large number of registered kids at HWY. The more volunteers we have, the more kids we can allow to register. Pilots: no tower, no SFRA, no flight plan! We need a walker for each aircraft, a marshaller and the usual admin/ photographer positions. If you are already a regular Young Eagles ground or pilot volunteer, you will get the usual email from yeday.org asking you to volunteer. If you are not yet a Young Eagles ground or pilot volunteer, please go to yeday.org with your EAA number and click on “Sign-up” to set up your volunteer record.

 

Blue Skies,

Bob

Young Eagles

 

 

EAA Young Eagles Logo
Thank you to all the ground and pilot volunteers that made the Feb 10 Rally a big
success. We flew 57 kids! We figure that may be a record for us at Manassas. Thank
you to our latest additions to our pilot list, Tino de la Cruz and Peter Castine. Also we
were privileged to have Young Eagles Annika Kensrud , Jan Reymundi and Dag
Guessford help on ground crew. In fact, for his volunteerism Jan Reymundi was
presented Feb 10 with a plaque for being our 2023 Chapter 186 Junior Volunteer of the
Year.

Our next rallies are:
March 9 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM (Manassas Airport)
April 20 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM (Warrenton Airport)*
May 11 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Manassas Airport)

*We have been invited by the Warrenton/Fauquier Airport to conduct a Young Eagles
Rally on April 20. This event will be open to kids from the Fauquier area local schools.

Young Eagles flights are available to kids between ages 8 and 17. We normally hold
our rallies on the second Saturday each month. Registration for kids begins at 8:00 AM
on the 1 st day of the month for that month’s rally. Two time slots are available, 12:00
Noon and 1:30 PM for the fall/winter months. Register at YoungEaglesDay.org as soon
as possible beginning at 8:00 AM on the 1 st .

Ground and Pilot Volunteers: About two/three weeks prior to a Young Eagles Rally, we
prompt the YoungEaglesDay.org system to send an email to all in our Young Eagles
volunteer database, inviting you to click on “confirm” or “will not attend.” This helps us
determine the staffing level so we can set the number of kids that can register for a ride.
Expect an automatic reminder email on Wednesday three days prior to the Young
Eagles Rally asking you to confirm that you are still planning to volunteer. This gives us
updated staffing level info. To become a Young Eagle Ground or Pilot Volunteer please
go to youngeaglesday.org and use the Sign-up feature to provide your information.

To Young Eagles and Parents: The Sporty’s Learn-to-Fly course ($299 value) is
available after just one flight. The access code is on the back of your logbook. This will
prepare you for the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test, “the written.” Every FAA written
exam (private, instrument, commercial, etc.) requires an endorsement from an instructor
stating you are prepared to take the exam. Passing this course with at least an 80%
grade lets you skip that step and gives you the required endorsement to take the Private
Pilot written test. For more details about the Sporty’s Learn-to-Fly course, go to
https://www.eaa.org/eaa/youth/free-ye-flights/sportys-learn-to-fly-coursestep-4-of-eaa-
flight-plan.

Chapter 186 Young Eagles Coordinators,
David Richards
Bob Prange

Aviation Scholarships Available
The application process is now open for several various aviation scholarships for 2024. These
are not administered through Chapter 186 however we encourage you to look into these
opportunities.

EAA Aviation Scholarships
EAA Aviation Scholarships are administered directly through the EAA Aviation Foundation, not
Chapter 186. Flight training and post-secondary scholarships are available to everyone over the
age of 16. The window to apply will close on March 1, 2024. These scholarships are for at least
$5,000.

Flight training scholarships help cover the costs at any flight school in the United States or
Canada that is not a university program. Post-secondary scholarships help pay for collegiate level
programs in the United States including but not limited to: aerospace or aeronautical engineering,
aviation business administration, air traffic control, aviation maintenance, professional flight, or
any aviation-related STEM field.

More information about individual scholarships and online application procedures is available at
EAA’s scholarship website at EAA.org/Scholarships. These scholarships are administered
through the EAA Aviation Foundation.

Virginia Department of Aviation's Aviation Education Programs
Go to https://doav.virginia.gov/ to find information on several scholarships offered by the
Virginia Department of Aviation. These are for various amounts and have varying deadline
dates.

Ray Aviation Foundation Scholarship

Our 2023 Ray Scholar, Grant Peterson has soloed and continues to work toward his Private Pilot
Certificate. Chapter 186 is waiting to hear from EAA Headquarters this month whether we can
grant a Ray Aviation Scholarship in 2024. This scholarship pays $11,000 toward the flight
training costs of the Private Pilot Certificate for a highly motivated 16 1/2 to 19 year-old aviation
candidate. The rules include a one-year timeframe from start to end and require solo within the
first three months and the written exam completion by six months.

If approved, this will be the sixth consecutive year awarding a scholarship. We will
search for an aviation motivated 16½ to 19-year-old with an interest in learning to fly.
We look at a candidate’s participation level in Chapter activities, level of completion in
the Sporty’s Learn-to-Fly video series or other ground school, participation in Young
Eagles flights and Oshkosh Air Academy and any accomplishments toward flight
training preparation. Possession of an FAA medical certificate is required for scholarship
consideration. The Ray Scholarship pays $11,000 toward the flight training costs of
obtaining a Private Pilot Certificate in three installments: initial, after first solo, and after
written exam completion.

The required milestones are:
—First solo flight within three months,
—Pass the private pilot written exam within six months,
—Pass the Private Pilot check ride within one year of receiving the initial funds.
The EAA asks for two hours per month of volunteer time at the chapter during training.

Ray Foundation Aviation Scholarship Program

 

Chapter 186 has applied to EAA to grant a 2024 Ray Aviation Foundation Flight Training Scholarship. Oshkosh will announce chapter selections in February. If approved we will ask 16 ½ to 19 year olds with an interest in learning to fly to respond to a questionnaire addressing their interest in aviation, chapter participation level, level of completion in the Sporty’s Learn-to-Fly video series, participation in Young Eagles flights, and Oshkosh Air Academy and accomplishments toward flight training preparation. Since the scholarship requires certain progress milestones, we look for a scholar candidate with a strong commitment to spend the summer accomplishing their first solo flight before school resumes in August and a strong commitment to continue an intense pace of flight training once the school year resumes. The EAA recommends 3 to 4 flight lessons per week. Only one flying lesson per week makes progressing through the lessons difficult. Look for more information soon once chapter selections are announced by EAA Headquarters.

The Ray Scholarship pays $11,000 toward the flight training costs of obtaining a Private Pilot Certificate. It is paid in three installments: initial, after first solo and after written exam completion. The required milestones are

—First solo flight within three months,

—Pass the private pilot written exam within six months,

—Pass the Private Pilot check ride within one year of receiving the initial funds.

An FAA medical certificate is required to be considered for the scholarship. The EAA asks for two hours per month of volunteer time at the chapter during training. Selection of a flight school is left to the parents and scholar.

The EAA selects a chapter to grant a Ray Scholarship based on the overall activity and accomplishments of that chapter. We have been selected annually since 2019 because our membership keeps Chapter 186 thriving through many various programs. Thank you to the chapter members for participating so that we may give out another $11,000 scholarship.

More information regarding the scholarship can be found here.

Air Academy – 2024 Slot Available

 

Although the Air Academy sessions are all filled up for 2024, Chapter 186 has paid the first $500 to secure one spot for a 12 to 13 year-old in the June 16 to 20 Young Eagles Camp at the Air Academy Lodge in Oshkosh.  If you are interested in sending your Young Eagles participant to this 5-day camp, please email rsp10000@aol.com.  The family will be responsible to get the child to and from camp and pay the remaining $500 tuition cost.  Additional information about the EAA Air Academy is available here.

The EAA Air Academy is a series of camps (five to nine days long) designed to introduce young people ages 12-18 to the aviation world.  Kids stay at the EAA Air Academy Lodge in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Experienced aviation instructors help them delve into flight through studies, hands-on demonstrations, flight simulation, and other exciting activities.  Campers will receive a ride in a Cessna Skycatcher or Skyhawk or a helicopter, weather permitting.  There are three age range camps, each given twice in the summer. The dates are as follows:

  • Young Eagles Camp for ages 12-13 is five days long, held twice in June.
  • Basic Camp for ages 14-15 is six days long, held twice in July.
  • Advanced Camp for ages 16-18 is nine days long, held twice in late July.

Notice that the Advanced Camp first session overlaps three days into AirVenture and the second session overlaps with the final three days of AirVenture.

Click here for additional information on course content and lodge accommodations and to register.  Contact president@eaa186.org if you have any questions.

Parents:  It is a good time to look ahead to the 2025 Air Academy Camps, Keep in mind that 2025 camp dates and registration will become available this August 2024.  We will monitor this to keep you informed so we can avail this opportunity before the camps fill up.

From the President

 

It is that time of year again, so I will dedicate this month’s column to explain the Ray Scholarship process.  Chapter 186 has applied to EAA to grant a 2024 Ray Aviation Foundation Flight Training Scholarship.  Oshkosh will announce chapter selections in February.  If approved we will ask 16 ½ to 19 year olds with an interest in learning to fly to respond to a questionnaire addressing their interest in aviation, chapter participation level, level of completion in the Sporty’s Learn-to-Fly video series, participation in Young Eagles flights and Oshkosh Air Academy and accomplishments toward flight training preparation.  Since the scholarship requires certain progress milestones, we look for a scholar candidate with a strong commitment to spend the summer accomplishing their first solo flight before school resumes in August and a strong commitment to continue an intense pace of flight training once the school year resumes.  The EAA recommends 3 to 4 flight lessons per week.  Only one flying lesson per week makes progressing through the lessons difficult.  Look for more information soon once chapter selections are announced by EAA Headquarters.

The Ray Scholarship pays $11,000 toward the flight training costs of obtaining a Private Pilot Certificate. It is paid in three installments: initial, after first solo and after written exam completion. The required milestones are 

—First solo flight within three months, 

—Pass the private pilot written exam within six months,

—Pass the Private Pilot check ride within one year of receiving the initial funds.

An FAA medical certificate is required to be considered for the scholarship.  The EAA asks for two hours per month of volunteer time at the chapter during training.  Selection of a flight school is left to the parents and scholar.

The EAA selects a chapter to grant a Ray Scholarship based on the overall activity and accomplishments of that chapter.  We have been selected annually since 2019 because our membership keeps Chapter 186 thriving through many various programs.  Thank you to the chapter members for participating so that we may give out another $11,000 scholarship.  

Air Academy – 2024 Slot available
Although the Air Academy sessions are all filled up for 2024, Chapter 186 has paid the first $500 to secure one spot for a 12 to 13 year-old in the June 16 to 20 Young Eagles Camp at the Air Academy Lodge in Oshkosh.  If you are interested in sending your Young Eagles participant to this 5-day camp, please email rsp10000@aol.com.  The family will be responsible to get the child to and from camp and pay the remaining $500 tuition cost.  Additional information about the EAA Air Academy sites is available here.
Thank you,

Bob Prange, President, EAA 186

 

 

Migration to new website host

We have migrated to a new web hosting provider.  As with any migration, there is a chance that some features may not have moved over perfectly, so please let us know if you notice any issues.

Thanks for understanding.

 

Chapter 186 60th Anniversary Picnic at the Flying Circus

Click here to get more info and directions to the Flying Circus

The passing of Virginia aviation icon — Evelyn Marshall

From Chapter President, Bob Prange.

We learned some sad news late in March with the passing of Evelyn Marshall. She has been a friend of aviation in Virginia for decades having developed and managed several past and present airports. I remember seeing her at both Woodbridge and Manassas airports many decades ago, always business-like, always smiling. I cannot list all her accomplishments here but I will mention she was inducted into the VAHS Hall of Fame and did tandem parachute jumps on her 80th and 90th birthdays! Find more about Evelyn Marshall here:

https://www.bakerpostfh.com/memorials/evelyn-marshall/5167148/obituary.php
https://www.vahsonline.com/pdf/Evelyn-Marshall.pdf