At just 18 years old, cousins Grant, EAA Lifetime 1507620, and Abby Keller are two of the youngest members of EAA Chapter 384, and they’ve already made their mark by flying a rebuilt PT-17 Stearman biplane to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh from their home in Brighton, Michigan, a more than 250-mile trip. Last year marked their first arrival in Oshkosh by plane, and this year, Grant and Abby returned once again as a team.
This year’s trip to Oshkosh was smoother than their first. “Last year we stopped like five times in a couple days per the weather,” Abby said. “But here we got a very nice tailwind [and we made] over a hundred knots. We were freezing over Chicago this time … but it definitely took less time.”
Their shared love for aviation began with their grandfather, who introduced them both to flying at a young age. In 2001 their grandfather bought the airplane and worked with some hired help in Missouri to put it back together, painting it in a bright blue and yellow color scheme with an iconic red and white striped tail.
For Grant, the spark was immediate. “I was 8 years old when my grandpa first took me up in this PT-17 Stearman,” he said. “And ever since then I loved it. [I loved] the thrill of it, open cockpit, everything. I just wanted to go up again.” Week after week, Grant begged for flights with his grandfather until he was finally old enough to solo at 16 and earn his pilot certificate at 17.
Abby’s introduction to flying came through the same family influence. “When we were both younger, we’d fly to our cabin or go to a water park with our little Piper Cherokee,” she said. “So that definitely is what drove it forward.”
Both Grant and Abby say flying gives them a sense of freedom and purpose. “I love being up in the air. It just feels so free,” Grant said.
Abby finds joy in the peaceful parts of flying, and she said she prefers to keep her flights smooth. “I like the cross-countries and looking at all the nature and everything underneath,” she said. “I do not like any maneuvers, any spins, anything like that.”
While Grant earned his certificate quickly, Abby’s journey was more challenging. “I struggled with confidence,” she explained. “I soloed about six months in, and then a year and a half later I tried to get my license. … I did not pass. That definitely took a hit in my confidence.”
But she didn’t give up. “I kind of took that challenge the next day, and three months later I passed in December,” she said proudly. Now she’s working on tailwheel training after earning her high-performance endorsement earlier this year.
Being young pilots in a field often dominated by older generations makes them stand out, especially when they climb out of a biplane. People will stop and stare and ask, “Who’s flying that?” And then they hop out.
But for Grant and Abby, flying isn’t just a hobby — it’s family, freedom, and the thrill of doing something not many 18-year-olds can say they’ve done.