September 16, 7:00 PM. at the Chapter House! Movie will contain great aerial footage, daredevil flying stunts plus a requisite love story in the background. Please feel free to bring snacks to share. Popcorn, sodas, and water will be available!
Young Eagles Rally This Saturday in Warrenton!
August 7, 2024 By
Our next Young Eagles Rally is this Saturday, August 10, 9:00 am-1:00 pm in Warrenton. Weather and visibility conditions-permitting the rally will go on as scheduled. Check back here for updates as they become available.
1929 Ford Tri-Motor Coming September 5-8!!!!
August 1, 2024 By
Want to travel in time? Take a flight on the first true American airliner: a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor!
Come by and say hi even if you don’t fly …
You can now book your ride on the 1929 Ford Tri-Motor at Manassas! Flights are available Thursday through Sunday, September 5-8, 2024, departing from the Terminal building at Manassas Regional Airport!
Click here to register.
Flights aren’t scheduled for a specific time; just come as early as you can on your day — between 2:00 and 5:00 PM on Thursday, and between 9:00 AM and 5:00PM on Friday through Sunday – and flights will take off as soon as enough passengers are checked in.
Can’t book in advance? No problem: tickets will be for sale on site every day. Adults are $99, and kids 17 and younger are $75. Every seat is a window seat!
Mary Dominiak
Ray Aviation Scholarship
July 23, 2024 By
Our 2024 Ray Scholar, Kobe Kerns, continues his flight instruction at the Winchester Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Kobe had already soloed and is working on the FAA written and beginning his cross-country training. 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.
Bob Prange
Young Eagles EAA Air Academy
July 23, 2024 By
Utilizing our credits earned for Young Eagles flights flown in 2023, Chapter 186 has paid for the first $500 of camp tuition for two kids to go to the Air Academy camp in Oshkosh this month. We earn credits from EAA for the number of Young Eagles we fly in the calendar year. We can then spend those credits toward the tuition costs for one or two kids to attend Air Academy.
The EAA Air Academy is a series of camps (five to nine days long) designed to introduce young people ages 14-18 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 two age range camps, each given twice in the summer:
-Basic Camp for ages 14-15 is six days long;
-Advanced Camp for ages 16-18 is nine days long.
Click here for additional information on course content, lodge accommodations and registration. Contact president@eaa186.org if you have any questions. EAA has announced that camp dates and registration for 2025 will become available September 3, 2024.
Bob Prange
***Chapter 186 Airventure Breakfast***
July 19, 2024 By
186 AirVenture Breakfast
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
Young Eagles
July 17, 2024 By
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
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.
***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.
Young Eagles Rally This Saturday 7/13!
July 10, 2024 By
Our Young Eagles Rally is coming up this Saturdaym July 13 from 0900-1300.
