In 2026, EAA’s Young Eagles program is on a mission to hit the next big milestone: Mission 2.5, or 2.5 million youths flown by volunteer pilots. The program’s goal is to get kids in the air and discover a passion for aviation through free introductory flights and follow-up educational opportunities, and since 1992, it has seen countless young people find inspiration to pursue careers in aviation.

In nature, fledglings usually don’t return to the nest after discovering their wings, but that’s not always the case at EAA. At EAA headquarters in Oshkosh, you can find 16 Young Eagles that have grown up to become full-time EAA employees, which is about 10 percent of our staff (15 percent if you don’t count the folks that had already aged out of the program when it started in 1992).

Formative Memories

For some staff members, and like many participants, their Young Eagles flight was their first time flying in a general aviation aircraft, and some had never flown even in airliners.

EAA Aviation Museum Director Chris Henry didn’t come from a family with a flying background, but aviation always had his interest. When he was 13 while volunteering at an air museum just outside of Pittsburgh, Chris was offered a ride in a Cessna 170. “I’d never been up in a small plane. I’d never actually been up in an airplane at all, ever, at that point. I went for about a half hour, and we flew, chasing trains and stuff like that. It was just the coolest thing,” he said. “I knew right then and there that I wanted to work for a place like EAA and make sure people had a clear pathway to be around aviation.”

Bob Huddock (left) gave 13-year-old Chris (right) his Young Eagles flight in his Cessna 170. The two remained lifelong friends, and Bob even stood up in Chris’ wedding.

Staff Photographer Connor Madison and Communications Specialist Drew Stephani shared similar first flight experiences, flying over their hometown and getting a new perspective on the places they live. “It was really enjoyable,” Connor said. “I was interested in aviation to begin with, but it accelerated that, for sure.”

Drew’s flight was a bit different from the typical Young Eagles flight; he flew in an Enstrom helicopter. “In the flight we went over my grandparents’ farmland, and my grandma was outside and she was able to wave to us, which was really cool,” he said. “I remember after flying in a helicopter, I wanted to know what flying in an airplane was like. It made me more curious about aviation.”

Drew’s dad’s friend was his Young Eagles pilot, and his dad even got to come along for the helicopter flight.

Many Young Eagles-turned-EAA-staffers already had aviation roots planted that would be reinforced through their experience.

Take Warbirds of America Executive Director Kristin Schaick for example. Her grandfather was a pilot, and her father is a lifelong EAA volunteer, but her Young Eagles flight was her first flight — and a special one at that. She flew in EAA’s Ford Tri-Motor over Oshkosh the day after her 9th birthday. “It was so cool, I wanted to keep going, and I wanted to keep flying. It sealed the deal for me,” she said.

As the executive director of Warbirds of America, Kristin gets many opportunities to experience military aircraft up close, like this L-39 Albatros.

Eagles Program Manager David Leiting also flew over Oshkosh for his Young Eagles flight, going up in a DC-3 to kick off the AirVenture 2002 air show and celebrate 10 years of the Young Eagles program. This flight strengthened a budding passion for aviation David had from attending AirVenture each year with his family and flying in a family friend’s Cessna 152.

Eleven years after his own Young Eagles flight, David flipped the script as a volunteer pilot in 2013. He now leads the youth program at EAA.  

Another staffer took off over Oshkosh from Pioneer Airport for her Young Eagles flight, and if any current staffer can say they were born into EAA, it’d have to be Print Mail Coordinator Emily Noack. Her parents, Tracy and Bauken Noack, met through their jobs at EAA. “I would not be alive today if EAA didn’t exist. My mom did fabric covering, and my dad worked on all different aircraft, so it was part of our daily life.”

Youth Education Center Manager Alyssa Clancy also has been around EAA since a young age, first attending AirVenture when she was just 2 years old. Growing up with an aviation mechanic for a dad, she frequented air shows and flew RC airplanes. “All of my experiences around aviation as a young child, including the Young Eagles rides I went on, made me want to become a pilot,” she said. “I actually even have a poster board in my office from a 5th grade presentation I did about EAA that includes my Young Eagles certificate.”

Alyssa’s dad’s friend Scott Halvorson was her Young Eagles pilot in 1996. In 2023, she returned the favor as his pilot!

Convention Administration Coordinator Preston Goetz was also a Young Eagle, though his aviation inspiration first came while on the ground. He lived near Wittman Regional Airport at the end of Runway 36, and one day his street was littered with stopped cars watching a funky looking airplane land. “It turned out to be the Concorde, and the last time the Concorde flew into Oshkosh. From that day, I fell in love with the Concorde and aviation,” he said.

Preston has made many EAA memories, like when he met aerobatic helicopter pilot Chuck Aaron in 2013. And in 2019, his oldest son became a second-generation Young Eagle. “It’s awesome seeing aviation through the kids’ eyes now and how jazzed they get about it,” he said.

For Flight Program Manager Jakob Brouillette, his Young Eagles flight opened up new possibilities. “I had a strong fascination prior to my Young Eagles flight,” he said. During his flight in a Piper Tri-Pacer, his pilot explained that Jakob could solo an airplane at 16. “I knew I had to at that point. Nothing has fanned the flames of my aviation interest more than that flight.”

The Places You’ll Go

These Young Eagles turned their aviation passion into much more than just a career at EAA.

Some have become pilots themselves and earned advanced ratings, some have built their own airplane, some are chapter leaders and volunteers, some have found lifelong friendships in the aviation community, and some have discovered purpose in returning the favor and sharing aviation with others.

These staff stories represent just a small fraction of people who turned their Young Eagles flight into an aviation career. In fact, they represent only 0.00064 percent of the full impact. With Mission 2.5 and the goal to bring the Young Eagles count to 2.5 million by this summer, there are and will be countless stories that prove the impact and importance of EAA’s youth outreach to foster the next generation of aviators. Join the mission today.