Click HERE
to access a slideshow of pictures from the 2010 Young Eagles Event!!
What is the Young Eagles
program?
The Young Eagles program is an international effort, sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association, and
implemented by the local EAA chapters. The goal is to provide a fun and
educational aviation experience for children ages eight to seventeen.
Many adults enjoy aviation today because they had a positive flying
experience early in life. The Young Eagles program is an effort to give
that wonderful experience to someone else by giving back to the
community. Well over a million Young Eagle flights have been flown, and
many of these kids have grown up and chosen a career in aviation.
Where are the local Young Eagles flights?
EAA chapter 892 usually has two Young Eagles days per year, one in the spring
and one in the fall. The exact dates are determined a few months in
advance and will be posted in the yellow box on the top of this web
page. Press Ctrl-D to bookmark this page (Command-D for Mac users) and
return for the latest information. Our Young Eagle flights take place
at the Richmond Madison County
Airport. Take I-75 exit 77 between Richmond
and Berea, onto route 595 heading west toward
Paint Lick and Kirksville (away from Berea). Drive a
tenth of a mile and turn right, between the Shell and BP gas stations, onto
Peggy Flats Road. Drive 2.1 miles and turn right onto Madison Airport Road.
Drive nine tenths of a mile. The airport is on your left. You
can't miss it.
Other local EAA chapters fly Young Eagles as well, including Mount Sterling and Georgetown. These events
are usually well advertised.
Are these Young Eagle flights really free?
Yes. Most airports charge $50 to $100 for local sight seeing flights,
but our Young Eagles flights are completely free. The object of the
Young Eagles program is to make aviation accessible to all kids, and charging
any money would detract from that goal. Our reward is seeing the smiles
on the kid's faces when they fly.
What is included in a Young Eagles flight?
Most Young Eagles flights last ten or fifteen minutes. The airplane
will depart from the runway, fly around a few minutes so kids can experience
flight and maybe even fly the plane by themselves,
and then return and land at the same airport. One to three kids will be
flown in each plane. Kids will be able to see the world from a
different perspective. It's the next best thing to soaring like a bird.
Are these Young Eagles flights safe?
All of the airplanes have airworthiness certificates issued by the Federal Aviation Administration and have been
inspected by an FAA certified mechanic within the past twelve months.
All the pilots have current pilot certificates and medical certificates
issued by the FAA. We are committed
to making Young Eagles flights as safe as they can be.
What are the Young Eagles requirements? Children ages 8-17 are eligible for
Young Eagles flights. A release form must be signed by the parent or
legal guardian. Release forms will be available at the Young Eagles
event.
Can I bring a large group of kids?
Yes! We make an intentional effort to reach out to Girl Scouts, Boy
Scouts, schools, and other places where there are large groups of kids.
Just remember to have a signed release form for each child. If you're
planning on bringing more than ten kids, please contact us a few weeks in
advance so we can make certain we have sufficient planes and pilots. We
can provide release forms in advance so parents can sign them without making
a trip to the airport. Contact us or more information at 859-314-83307.
Can adults fly in the Young Eagles program?The national Young Eagles program is for
kids only. However, our local chapter makes an effort to fly parents or
other adults as "Old Buzzards", after the Young Eagles event.
Old Buzzards are not part of the Young Eagles program. Old Buzzard
flights are simply demo flights for adults. The main focus of our Young
Eagles Day is to fly kids, so the kids come first. Old Buzzards are
flown if no kids are waiting to fly. The best time for an Old Buzzard
flight is later in the afternoon, after the kids have flown.
Are there any other activities planned for Young Eagles Day? We usually do something else that's
related to aviation, but it's different each time. In the past, we've
offered some ground school instruction, we've had paper airplane seminars,
and we've had a WWII Link Trainer flight simulator. We'll keep varying
the support activities to keep it interesting for those kids who return for
every Young Eagles Day. The parts that will stay the same for each
Young Eagles Day are free airplane rides for kids, reasonably priced food and
beverages, and restroom facilities.
Where can I learn more about the Young Eagles program? For more information, please visit
the national Young Eagles website.
How do I contact the local Young Eagles
coordinator for more information?You
can email us at at EAA892 dot org
or call859-314-8330.
How many
Young Eagles have been flown locally? You can check the official status of
the EAA chapter 892 Young Eagles flights registered in the world's
largest logbook.
Make plans to
attend the next EAA chapter 892 Young Eagles Day and have your name added to
the world's largest logbook!
If you've already flown, check to see if you're in the logbook. Be
patient. There may be a delay of a month or so before your flight is
registered.
Here are some images from previous Young Eagles Days:
Rusty MacSwords flew the most Young Eagles,
flying three at a time in his Piper. He was so busy flying kids, we didn't get a good picture of the kids! But
they had a great time. They enjoyed it almost as much as Rusty.
Bill Daugherty flew a lot of Young Eagles, also three at a time in the
Cessna 172.
Maybe next time, we can talk Bill into flying some Young Eagles in his
helicopter. That would be an E-ticket ride, for sure. We'd have EAA
members trying (badly) to pass themselves off as 17 year olds.
Brad Gammill flew a lot of Young Eagles in his
Cessna Aerobat. Brad frequently flies aerobatic maneuvers in his plane,
but not during Young Eagle flights.
This little girl looked very happy to be a Young Eagle.
Joe Sanchez was flying Young Eagles in Roger Jones' Cessna 150.
Roger is an accomplished ultralight (trike) pilot and glider pilot. He's using his plane
to take lessons. After the FAA signs off on Roger's new pilot's
license, he'll probably be flying Young Eagles.
This young gentleman was Joe's 100th Young Eagle. Congratulations to
both!
What do kids think of flying? Click HERE to find out.
Make plans to
attend the next EAA chapter 892 Young Eagles Day and have your name added to
the world's largest logbook!
