Young Eagles

July 17, 2024 By

EAA Young Eagles Logo

Our June 29 Young Eagles Rally got off to a slow start with low cloud ceilings. Several families weren’t able to stay long enough for the weather to clear so we flew 27 kids out of 40 scheduled. Many thanks go out to our volunteers, ground and pilot, for staying on later to get the job done. Our next two Young Eagles Rallies are all from 0900 – 1300 at Manassas Airport with the third at Warrenton from 1000 – 1400:

July 13

August 10

September 14 (Warrenton)

To become a Young Eagles volunteer, ground support or pilot, proceed to yeday.org and use the “sign-up” feature. Let Bob know you have signed up so we can send you an invitation to volunteer.

Young Eagles flights are available to kids between ages 8 and 17. We normally hold our rallies on the second Saturday each month. We use two time slots, 0900 and 1100 for the summer months. Parents can register at yeday.org beginning at 0800 on the 1st of each month.

Ground and Pilot Volunteers: About two to three weeks prior to a Young Eagles Rally, we prompt the yeday.org system to send an email to everyone 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 again that you are still planning to volunteer. This gives us updated staffing level info.

To Young Eagles and Parents: The Sporty’s Learn- to-Fly course ($299 value) is available free 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, click here.

Bob Prange

 

 

Filed Under: News

Ford Tri-Motor Coming to Manassas Regional Airport!!!

July 15, 2024 By

Mark your calendars: we’re offering time travel at Manassas Regional Airport from September 5-8, 2024 on EAA’s 1929 Ford Tri-Motor 4-AT-E! Full details and a link to prebook rides on the airplane will be posted shortly, but here’s the quick version:

Weather permitting, rides will be available on Thursday, September 5, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT, and on Friday through Sunday, September 6-8, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Tickets are $99 for adults, and $75 for kids age 17 and under. You’ll be able to buy tickets in advance online, or by phone or walk-up at the Terminal once the plane is here.

We’ll post the link for advance ticket sales as soon as it’s active, and stay tuned to this channel for a LOT more information over the coming days!

In the meantime, enjoy this short glimpse of what flying on the Ford is like here.

Filed Under: News

***From the President***

July 15, 2024 By

 

On Saturday June 29 we had our weather-postponed double event, both a Young Eagles Rally as well as our regular monthly member gathering which was a cookout in lieu of guest speaker. This gave us a chance to welcome the summer with a cookout and simple fellowship. Many of our usual grilling and cookout experts were signed up to work the Young Eagles Rally so we solicited additional volunteers for the cookout.

There will not be a monthly member gathering in July since many Chapter 186 members will be traveling to and from AirVenture 2024 at Oshkosh. If you are in Oshkosh, please come to the Tuesday July 23 breakfast meet-up at 8:00 AM at the Tailwinds Cafe, near the Forums area, between Homebuilders’ HQ and Homebuilders’ Hangar.

We have a couple new items on the horizon for September: We are hoping to host the Ford TriMotor as we did in June 2023. This is normally a 4-day affair from Thursday through Sunday. We will need your help with ramp and crowd control as well as staffing the cook trailer for the weekend portion. This is all subject to our ability to secure hangar space for the Ford plus clearing the use of the terminal and ramp space with airport staff. Also, we are working with Warrenton -Fauquier Airport to conduct our September 14 Young Eagles Rally at Warrenton as we did last April and September. We will target families in that area to share the general aviation experience. Operating a Young Eagles Rally at Warrenton is a natural fit with their spacious new terminal, ramp and fenced patio.

 

 

Filed Under: News

Young Eagles Rally This Saturday 7/13!

July 10, 2024 By

EAA Young Eagles Logo

Our Young Eagles Rally is coming up this Saturdaym July 13 from 0900-1300.

Filed Under: News

***The Chapter 186 Picnic is rescheduled for June 29***

June 25, 2024 By

The Chapter 186 Picnic is rescheduled for June 29.    

 

 

This is our monthly gathering in lieu of a speaker.  Please come by for burgers, hot dogs and other goodies.  Coffee and doughnuts will start at 10:00.  We’ll start to cook around 10:30.  A donation will be appreciated to cover the costs.  If you would like to help with set-up and grilling, let Judy Sparks know at jhsparks@comcast.net or 703-581-7667.

Filed Under: News

*The Young Eagles Rally is rescheduled for June 29!!!*

June 25, 2024 By

****The Young Eagles Rally is rescheduled for June 29.****

 

EAA Young Eagles Logo

 

 

The rally will operate from 0900 to 1300.  Registration for parents began at 8:00 AM on Sunday June 23.   We ask that pilot and ground volunteers use the yeday.org email request to volunteer again, even if you had already volunteered for June 22.

Filed Under: News

Air Venture 2024

June 24, 2024 By

The annual EAA Chapter 186 Breakfast at AirVenture in Oshkosh will be held this year as usual on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at the Tail Winds Cafe at 8:00 a.m. The Cafe has changed its name many times over the years, but the location remains the same, over by the Forums and Workshops.

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND

Filed Under: News

Ray Aviation Scholarship

June 24, 2024 By

 

Ray Aviation Scholarship Our 2024 Ray Scholar, Kobe Kerns, continues his flight instruction at the Winchester Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Kobe began with Young Eagles in 2017. You may have seen his recent article in the May issue of Sport Aviation or even better with lots of pictures on the EAA website here.
Our 2023 Ray Scholar, Grant Peterson, has passed the FAA written exam and is working on his cross-country flying and preparation for the Private Pilot check ride. The Ray Scholarship pays $11,000 toward the flight training costs of obtaining a Private Pilot Certificate.
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.
Please note the scholarship process requires an FAA medical certificate prior to being considered for the scholarship.

 

 

Filed Under: News

Young Eagles Update from Bob Prange

June 24, 2024 By

EAA Young Eagles Logo

Our May 11 Young Eagles Rally was moved to May 18 due to an airspace conflict with a mass flyover event, then of course inclement weather forced cancellation of the May 18 rally. Our next Young Eagles Rallies are all from 0900 – 1300 at Manassas Airport:
June 29
July 13
August 10
Please note our next Young Eagles Rally is this Saturday, June 29 from 0900-1300.
To become a Young Eagles volunteer, ground support or pilot, proceed to yeday.org and use the “sign-up” feature. Let Bob know you have signed up so we can send you an invitation to volunteer. Young Eagles flights are available to kids between ages 8 and 17. We normally hold our rallies on the second Saturday each month. We use two time slots, 0900 and 1100 for the summer months.
Parents can register at yeday.org beginning at 0800 on the 1st of each month. Ground and Pilot Volunteers: About two to three weeks prior to a Young Eagles Rally, we prompt the yeday.org system to send an email to everyone 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 again that you are still planning to volunteer. This gives us updated staffing level info.
To Young Eagles and Parents: The Sporty’s Learn- to-Fly course ($299 value) is available free 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, click here.
Chapter 186 Young Eagles Coordinators,
David Richards & Bob Prange

 

Filed Under: News

Aluminum Overcast from Mary Dominiak

June 24, 2024 By
By now you all probably know that EAA moved our lovely B-17, Aluminum Overcast, into the Eagle Hangar at the EAA Museum to be on public display in the spot that was built to hold her once her flying days were past. The inevitable question is, has that day actually come, or will she fly again? I can’t claim to be a B-17 whisperer, but I stay plugged in to trustworthy sources in the community. While there haven’t been any definitive official declarations from EAA HQ, what I’m hearing from my feelers is encouraging news, despite everyone acknowledging that the road back to flight will be long, painstaking, and expensive.
Here’s why what I’m hearing makes me hopeful. First off, the folks in the Kermit Weeks Restoration Hangar spent the past several months rebuilding the empennage and much of the center section, repairing structural corrosion. Second, all the replacement wing terminals have already been forged (at a cost around $130,000), but they still need to be lathed and drilled. Third, Spirit Aviation is planning to supply the new spar tubes, but they’re still in the early stages of working out the process. None of these expensive repairs would be necessary if EAA planned simply to leave her on static display in the museum. They would have needed to stabilize her to prevent continuing deterioration, but not to go as far as they have. To me, the fourth point is the most telling one: another B-17 flying group offered a very attractive price for Aluminum Overcast’s airworthy engines, including an exchange of worn out engines that would still be fine for display. EAA refused to sell. EAA’s level of investment in restoring AO thus far indicates strongly to me that their intent is to have her fly. I’m guessing, however, that their public statements have been vague because they’re sufficiently concerned about all the uncertainties inherent in the process (B-17 spar tubes haven’t been made in decades) and in obtaining all the necessary funding to complete the job, that they don’t want to over-promise and then come up short.
On top of that, the regulatory environment around living history experience flights has always been fluid, and it’s possible that the FAA could at any time during the restoration process decide no longer to grant the exemptions necessary to permit such flights to continue. It’s a gamble with too many indeterminate factors to allow for calculating the odds with any confidence. The prudent course is to continue to work toward flight while not promising it will happen, and that appears to be what EAA is doing.
In the meantime, the fundraising continues! EAA just announced the availability of unique plane tags made by MotoArt with aluminum skin removed from AO’s upper wings during post-hail-damage repairs in 2014. Each PlaneTag is hand cut, stamped, and individually etched and numbered, making them each one-of-a-kind. Only 5,000 of these tags are available, so they aren’t cheap: EAA member prices range from $99 to $148.50, depending on the features of the etching and the aluminum used in the tag (ones with paint are more expensive than plain silver ones, for example). You’ll find them online at https://shop.eaa.org/ collections/eaa-b-17-aluminum-overcast-planetags. Twenty-five dollars from each tag sold goes to the preservation of Aluminum Overcast. Expect more fundraising announcements and opportunities as time goes on.
Mary Dominiak
Filed Under: News
« Previous Page
Next Page »