EAA Chapter 186

Are you jonesing for the power and grace of a B-17? Do you want to marvel at a twin-engine WWII B-25 bomber being louder on board than a four-engine B-17? I have good news for you! No, our beautiful B-17 Aluminum Overcast isn’t coming; she’s still down for more repair work. And EAA’s B-25 Berlin Express is staying close to home in Wisconsin and Illinois this summer. But the Commemorative Air Force’s Airbase Arizona is bringing their “Flying Legends of Victory” tour to Warrenton-Fauquier Airport June 9-14, 2026, featuring rides and ground tours on their lovely B-17G Sentimental Journey and B-25J Maid in the Shade. If you want to book rides or learn more about their schedule on site, their website is live here: https://www.azcaf.org/location/warrenton-va-tour-stop/.

For even more fun, the airport will be hosting the Sentimental Journey Dance on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 7:00 to 9:30 PM at the terminal. Dress in your best vintage attire and enjoy live period music by the 17-piece Silver Tones Swing Band and their Andrews Sisters style vocalists, the Silver Belles. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be available for a donation. Check out the event here: https://www.fauquiercounty.gov/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/68972/.

Should I start singing “I’ll Be Seeing You” there?

We have chosen Rori Ross as our Ch 186 Ray Scholar for 2026 and EAA recently approved our selection. Rori has been on several Young Eagles flights and has been volunteering on the ground crew at our Young Eagles rallies. She soloed at the USAF Aim High Academy, a three week introductory flight academy. Rori is now taking flight instruction at Elevation Aviation on the east side of the field at Manassas. She will graduate this June and plans to attend Oklahoma State University’s aviation program.

The Ray Scholarship pays $12,000 toward the flight training costs of obtaining a Private Pilot Certificate. Note that total costs will most likely exceed $12,000. It is funded in three installments: $4,800 up front, $4,800 after first solo and $2,400 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.

Possession of an FAA medical certificate is required for scholarship consideration. It does not suffice to merely plan to get an FAA Medical if chosen as a scholar. EAA will not allow us to put forth a scholar for their consideration if he/she does not already have a medical (minimum of a FAA Third Class certificate).

For the 2026 Air Academy we have spent our credits available to help with the tuition for two campers that are going in June and July. One is going to the Explore Camp Session 1 in late June and one is going to Session 2 in early July.

The EAA Air Academy offers away-from-home aviation themed camps. For 2026 there were two separate camps: Explore Aviation Camp and Navigating Horizons Camp for either of two age groups, 14 to 15 and 16 to 18. The information (dates, course content, ages, tuition costs) for the 2026 camps is available at https://www.eaa.org/eaa/youth/eaa-aviation-and-flight-summer-camps and the info for the 2027 camps and on-line registration will be posted there in September 2026. Parents: Info for the 2027 camps and on-line registration will be posted there in September 2026. Camper slots fill up quickly! Once
registered and accepted for a camp, you can apply directly to the EAA for an EAA campership which may help pay for the tuition. EAA Ch 186 has also tuition assistance in the past couple years. If you are already registered for an Air Academy camp, let us know and we may be able to help with tuition assistance. Transportation to and from Air Academy is the responsibility of the parents. Room and board are included in the tuition.

The May 9 Young Eagles rally at Warrenton Airport was canceled. We had 30 kids plus 15 on the waitlist but the pilot/aircraft list shrank in the days leading up to the event to the point that we could not have held a successful rally.

Pilots: In an effort to push the total of Young Eagles flown to 2.5 million kids, EAA has announced Mission 2.5 where Young Eagle Pilots have an incentive to fly 25 kids between 10/1/2025 to 7/31/2026. Any volunteer pilot that rises to the challenge and flies 25 Young Eagles or more from October 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026, will be issued a limited-edition commemorative hat courtesy of Sporty’s.

Below are our current totals through May 2026 for
each Young Eagles pilot:

Chris Berg 12

Dan Botzer 26

Matthew Friedman 8

Joseph Fry 3

Dave Huss 3

Michael Iachini 8

Allan Osborn 20

Michael Osmers 6

Grant Peterson 2

Bob Prange 32

Brian Roy 17

Paul Schafer 13

Curtis Smith 11

Jeff Swedo 9

David Taylor 4

Our next Young Eagles Rallies are:
June 13 – Manassas at 0900
July 11 – Manassas at 0900
August 22 – Manassas at 0900

Young Eagles flights are available for kids between ages 8 and 17. We normally hold our rallies on the second Saturday each month. Parents can register at eaachapters.org beginning at 8:00 AM on the 1st of each month.

Chapter 186 Young Eagles Coordinators
David Richards
Bob Prange

Saturday May 23 Member Gathering
1000 Guest Speaker
Coffee and Doughnuts at 0920

Please join us Saturday.  This month our speaker is Phil Soucy.  Phil is a retired Air Force Officer and former SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO).  Phil is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School as well as the Air Force Fighter Weapons School.  He is also a docent at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.  Phil is Co-Founder and Chairman of MTSI, an Alexandria VA based Aerospace Engineering company.  He is an aircraft owner and general aviation pilot.  His presentation will be about the SR-71 and his experiences flying the world’s fastest aircraft.  The presentation will also talk about the technical attributes of the aircraft with an emphasis on the navigation systems that allowed it to accomplish its cold war mission.

Due to a handful of aircraft cancellations, our 5/9 Young Eagles rally has been cancelled. Please join us for our next Young Eagles rally on June 13 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in Manassas. Registration for the event begins June 1.

Friday May 1
7:00 PM
Movie Night at the Chapter House

Experimental Aircraft Association
Chapter 186
National Capital Chapter
10629 Aviator Avenue
Manassas, VA  20110