By Mike Felske, EAA 509394
Although the weather did not cooperate on his 16th birthday, two days later Eliot Felske, EAA 1145556, soloed his family’s 1949 Piper Clipper. Eliot has grown up with EAA as a part of his life. He first visited EAA AirVenture Oshkosh when he was 3 1/2 years old and now spends the week camping with his extended EAA family and friends. He participated in the Young Eagles program as a child, and now volunteers for Chapter 18 Young Eagles events answering questions from parents and kids. He has also volunteered for the EAA AirVenture Cup air race waving the green flag at the start line and the checkered flag at the finish line, and most recently served as a member of the finish line crew as a lead timer. Eliot looks forward to many adventures in the family Clipper with his CFI father. He also would like to find the time to build a Long-EZ as he moves toward a career in astrophysics.
Have you reached a milestone recently? Passed a checkride, given your first or hundredth Young Eagle flight, flown your homebuilt for the first time? Tell us about it at editorial@eaa.org.