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.
