This piece originally ran in the September 2023 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
You may recognize Tenley Ong, EAA 1388744, from her contributions to EAA’s blog, where she has written relatable stories about working toward her pilot certificate. Tenley, a talented writer and pilot, is also one of the hardworking volunteers who make AirVenture special. Tenley not only cleans and sets up the forum buildings but also has been contributing to AirVenture Today, the official newspaper of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, for two years. She’s a dedicated journalist who is not afraid to cover subjects people want to know. From a behind-the-scenes look at the Van’s Aircraft 50th anniversary flyover to how much free stuff one young pilot can collect just by walking through the AirVenture grounds, Tenley loves being involved in and writing for the EAA community.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of stuff in my short life at the age of 23,” she joked. “Not once have I encountered … a community quite like the aviation community. The amount of support that I’ve had in the last couple years has been incredible, and I want to find a way to pay it forward and give back.”
Tenley, originally from Sacramento, fell in love with aviation when she was little. She dreamed of flying cars and flying to school. In high school she had the opportunity to go on a flight over Sacramento. “I was looking at the ground and all these places that I knew from a completely different angle … I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” she said. From there she connected with a flight instructor, and the rest is history.
She first got involved with EAA through her local chapter, EAA Vintage Chapter 25 in Sacramento, California, in 2020. She worked on chapter members’ airplanes on Saturdays, eventually mentoring other young pilots and earning a seat on her chapter’s board. In 2021 she tagged along with Ray scholars from her chapter to AirVenture, where the group helped with sweeping the pavilions and getting the forum stages ready. While volunteering, our May 2023 Volunteer Spotlight subject Abigail Oleniczak, EAA 1157455, wrote an article highlighting the volunteer work Tenley’s chapter was doing.
“I was like, ‘Hold up! That’s really cool! I want to do this!’” So she tracked down AirVenture Today Managing Editor Hal Bryan and reporter Barbara A. Schmitz to see how she could get even more involved in AirVenture’s culture and community. “They were very welcoming, and I’ve been doing as much writing as I can ever since,” she said.
Barb described working with Tenley: “It is fun to work with Tenley because she has a passion for aviation and EAA.Because she was familiar with AirVenture, she knew what type of stories were out on the field, and she immediately started pitching ideas of things she could write. Besides her skills, it’s her enthusiasm I most admire and enjoy. She always puts 100 percent into whatever she does … she’s just a fun part of the AVT team.”
As for plans for the future, Tenley has her degree in environmental studies from the University of Oregon and hopes to connect her interest in the environment with her passion for aviation. “I’d really like to work for some kind of sustainable aviation company and tie it all together,” she said. One thing is for certain, no matter where her career takes her, Tenley will be a presence at many AirVentures to come.
Volunteers make EAA AirVenture Oshkosh — and just about everything else EAA does — possible. This space in EAA Sport Aviation is dedicated to thanking and shining the spotlight on volunteers from the community. Sadly, it cannot capture all of the thousands of volunteers who give so much to the community every year. So, next time you see a volunteer at AirVenture or elsewhere, however they are pitching in to make EAA better, be sure to thank them for it. It’s the least we can do. Do you know a volunteer you’d like to nominate for Volunteer Spotlight? Visit EAA.org/Submissions.