Twin brothers and Young Eagles Gavin and Gabriel Miner, 17 years old, have become certificated pilots after recently passing their checkrides!
The brothers are both EAA members and Young Eagles program participants, and they volunteer at the Port Townsend Aero Museum in Port Townsend, Washington. They have learned aircraft maintenance and repair skills, and as volunteers, they assist in operating the museum facility. In addition to maintaining the facility, youth volunteers at the museum learn various skills required to operate an aviation museum. Both brothers scored a perfect 100-percent on their FAA written exams. Since passing their checkrides, they have become tailwheel qualified and routinely fly the museum’s tailwheel aircraft, including a Piper Cub, Cessna 140, and even a CallAir. They also help other youths with their studies and flying skills and will be Young Eagles pilots themselves soon.
They knew they wanted aviation to be part of their life. Aviation first intrigued them when they learned their grandfather was a pilot. Year after year, Gavin, EAA 1338237, and Gabriel, EAA 1340443, kept wanting to pursue aviation. They wanted to keep learning and growing, which was the motivation for them to keep going; it was simply just them wanting to fly.
“I’ve always loved flying, so I really think that’s all the motivation I needed to keep pushing towards getting my license and being able to fly on my own,” Gabriel said, “I think both of us have really loved flying all the time that we have been doing it. It’s like an activity that we get to do. It has never been something that is a chore.”
“Both of us don’t have a negative mindset,” Gavin said, “We don’t think, ‘Oh, that was super hard’ or ‘We messed up.’ We look back and figure out what we did wrong, so the next time that gives us confidence so the next time we can do better.”
Gavin and Gabriel did not think they would be where they are today, but they wouldn’t want it any other way. Doing it side by side as brothers was terrific for them because someone close to them was going through the same thing. They could motivate each other, ask each other questions, and have someone to relate to. Both Gavin and Gabriel are color blind, so being able to earn their certificates is a big step because initially they thought they would never be able to fly.
Gavin and Gabriel plan on working on their instrument rating and hopefully will have it next year. Gabriel wants to dedicate more time to flying in the future, as he only does it about once a week. He also has an interest in working in aeronautical engineering. Gavin would like to attend an aviation-focused college or a college with an aviation program to attain more ratings. He has a goal of becoming an airline pilot. No matter what, both of their plans will have flying involved.
“I just love flying. I love aviation. I always look forward to flying, and I always like learning more,” Gavin said, “I think that really drives us to keep flying and keep learning about aviation.”
“I love flying. It’s my favorite part of the week, most of the time. It’s something I always look forward to,” Gabriel said, “There are other things I do where you have good days and bad days, and you look forward to some days. But I know if I can fly, I always look forward to that day.”