By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the September 2025 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. I wrote an article several months ... Read more
By Sharon Puschmann “Every time I see a plane flying overhead, I tell myself, ‘I will be up there one day. I will be able to do that.’” Once ... Read more
By James Weiss, EAA 1139532 The following is derived from 30-plus years of reading aircraft accident reports and listening to many FAA safety briefings, as well as incident debriefs. The ... Read more
By Chad Haas, EAA 1265808, EAA Chapter 1551 President Steven Geist, EAA 1503861, our Ray Aviation scholar, made his first solo flight on July 17 at Umatilla Airport (X23). He ... Read more
By Scott Thompson, President, EAA Chapter 1541 Way back sometime in 2018, I had the pleasure of participating in a Young Eagles rally held by our chapter, EAA Chapter 1541, ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the June 2025 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. One evening after a day ... Read more
By Jim Roberts A few AirVentures ago, a friend introduced me to the concept of “MOO” — the Magic of Oshkosh. It’s the serendipitous and often quirky turn of events ... Read more
By Ralph Moser, EAA 702188, EAA Chapter 485 President EAA Chapter 485, the “Panhandle Pelicans” of Pensacola, Florida, would like to highlight the progress of Brian Harris, one of the ... Read more
By Eric Wegner, EAA 329302, EAA Chapter 320 (Watertown, Wisconsin) President EAA Chapter 320’s 2025 Ray Aviation Scholarship recipient is Riley Runke, EAA 1655190. Receiving this scholarship is a big ... Read more
By Gary Brossett, EAA Lifetime 375866 What a month it has been! Lola Waldrep, EAA 1399617, earned her private pilot certificate on June 17, spent the next few days completing ... Read more
By Shane Vande Voort, EAA 549889 My son, Sullivan Vande Voort, EAA 1239194, celebrated his 16th birthday on May 26 by completing a solo flight in 13 different airplane ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the May 2025 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. It is early March as I ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the March 2025 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. One of the most common ... Read more
By Greg Alberti, EAA 1225585, EAA Chapter 196 Ray Aviation Scholar As an 18-year-old, recently minted private pilot, I have been flying airplanes for over half of my life. The ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the November 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. Learning to fly under FAR Part ... Read more
By Ella Lucas, EAA 1518806, EAA Chapter 96 A Ray Aviation Scholarship is the best Christmas gift ever. I recently received the Ray Aviation Scholarship from EAA. When I went ... Read more
By Gary Brossett, EAA Lifetime 375866, EAA Chapter 677 President Lola Waldrep, EAA 1399617, soloed a Cessna 172N on November 24, 2024, at Lanett Regional Airport in Alabama. When she ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the October 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. AirVenture is a time for me ... Read more
This time on The Green Dot, hosts Hal and Tom are joined by Jeremy Desruisseaux, EAA’s director of flight proficiency programs, to talk about EAA’s Pilot Proficiency Center, which opened ... Read more
By Brian Hart, EAA 1457879 The Old Man was not always old; he had once been young and dreamed of flight. And when he was young, he had an Old ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the September 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. Sitting at the picnic table and ... Read more
By Joel Kersting, EAA 882109 On August 21, 2024, Emily Ericson and Nathan Ewens both passed their private pilot checkrides, becoming certified private pilots. Emily, EAA 1571675, is a senior ... Read more
EAA Chapter 838 in Racine, Wisconsin, is excited to announce several significant achievements and events marking a vibrant period for the chapter. The chapter has proudly welcomed its 500th member, ... Read more
By John Wyman, EAA 462533, Chapter 266 Montreal For the longest time, I have been contemplating the hurdles to get a pilot license and FLY! It seems that the endeavour ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the August 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. I remember when learning to fly ... Read more
By Matt Ringen, EAA 1304226 “Uncomfortable is good, stay there,” was the response I received from a flying mentor as he recognized I was at the very edge of my ... Read more
By Sharon Puschmann, EAA 1382843 Pilots come in all shapes and sizes with different motivations, drives, and desires. Some are inspired by family members, military ambitions, or dreams of becoming ... Read more
By Gary Ludeke, EAA 199851 This is a story about an 18-year-old young man, Jakin Messer, EAA 1293775, who is very passionate about having a career as an airline pilot. He ... Read more
By John Muhle, EAA 1360048, EAA Chapter 289 President It was Wings and Wheels in the summer of 2022, and a young man had made plans to attend the event ... Read more
By Tristan da Cunha Monday, July 17, 2023, is a day I vividly remember. The VFR flight conditions were textbook perfect. It was on this day that I flew my ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the July 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. Would you consider yourself a safe, ... Read more
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the June 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. I read a statement the other ... Read more
By Barbara A. Schmitz Able Flight awarded its greatest number of flight training scholarships in a year to people with a disability in 2024, and nine of those 10 scholarship ... Read more
By Abigail Oleniczak The excitement of KidVenture began 25 years ago when then EAA Chairman Tom Poberezny and Vice President Greg Anderson asked EAA Director Dan Majka to create somewhere ... Read more
By Paul Maloy, EAA Director of Education Far too often, teenagers are categorically labeled as inadequate, unmotivated, unfocused, and lazy. However, the truth for many teens is exactly the opposite! ... Read more
By Master Sgt. Kellen Kroening The Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing is unveiling a state-of-the-art mobile boom simulator at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024. This cutting-edge tool is ... Read more
By: Ella Lucas, EAA 1518806 Do you dream about living forever or becoming a legend, like Davy Crockett? I think many people do. There is something instinctive inside of us ... Read more
By Isabella Downton, Northern Manitoba My student pilot journey did not begin with a discovery flight, it began when I was five years old. My family co-owned a floatplane charter ... Read more
To all aspiring pilots out there, remember: the journey may be long and arduous, but the view from the cockpit makes it all worthwhile. Keep your eyes on the horizon ... Read more
One EAA member chronicles her unique path to aviation – a story of overcoming a lifelong illness and receiving her medical certificate, and how an internet scammer unknowingly inspired it ... Read more
The newest scholarship coming to EAA is the Joey Ermel “Do Your Impeccable Best” Tailwheel Endorsement Scholarship, to honor the memory and legacy of longtime aviation enthusiast Joseph “Joey” Ermel.
In a recent column for EAA Sport Aviation, contributor Steve Krog discusses the concept of bringing experienced commercial pilots back into the general aviation flight training world.
The Ford Tri-Motor, as the first luxury airliner, transformed global travel, heralding the era of commercial flight. Today, as I dream of piloting cutting-edge aircraft across continents, I owe a ... Read more
In a recent column for EAA Sport Aviation, contributor Mark Murray discusses some points for ultralight pilots to consider when contemplating earning your sport pilot certificate.
About ten thousand hours ago (pilots understand this time frame, and this is a flying story after all), I found myself working as a civilian for the Air Force in ... Read more
Many fairy tales start with “once upon a time” and are only a fable. However, my story started as a little girl with a dream. Not a lot of people ... Read more
If I was asked to point a finger at the moment in time when aviation became my life, it would be that one. It may have only been a minute ... Read more
In a recent column for EAA Sport Aviation, contributor Steve Krog discusses aspects of flight training that aren’t generally being taught to student pilots today.
In a recent column for EAA Sport Aviation, contributor Steve Krog discusses aspects of flight training that aren’t generally being taught to student pilots today.
Josh Robinson, Matthew Platt Scholarship and Tex Edwards Scholarship recipient, shares where he is in the journey to earning his private pilot certificate, how the scholarships have helped him, and ... Read more
My name is Charlie Gibbons, and I am a 21-year-old student currently attending Kent State University. First off, I would like to say thank you for selecting me as the ... Read more
On December 17, 2021, I officially became a pilot. Fittingly, it was the 118th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first successful flight of a powered airplane. I have a personal ... Read more
Jake landed an airplane for the first time at age 13 on July 1, 2019. Last week he turned 16 and on October 30 the weather allowed him to experience ... Read more
Gene Schumacher loved anything that flew, and he flew anything he could. Gene bought the flight school that became Pro Flight in 1996, where he became a mentor to so ... Read more
Seventeen-year-old Brady Sherrow, EAA 1062054, flew into Oshkosh on his longest cross-country trip yet, just two weeks after earning his private pilot certificate!
On June 12, 2021, Ray Aviation Scholarship recipient Cheyenne Fuoco soloed at the Hartford-Brainard Airport in Hartford, Connecticut, in a Cessna 172R.
By Steve Krog, EAA 173799 This piece originally ran in Steve’s Classic Instructor column in the May 2021 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine. During the past several months, I ... Read more
Evan Carell, EAA 1300856, and Maryjane Marroquin, EAA 1357794, were recently awarded Ray Aviation Scholarships through Chapter 35 in Texas, and they’ve written to share updates on their progress.
EAA Chapter 1 celebrated a huge milestone on November 21, 2020, when its Ray Aviation Scholarship recipient, 18-year-old Patricia Kackert, EAA 1380209, made her first solo flight.
I would not have been able to receive my private or tailwheel endorsement without the guidance and help of EAA and the Tinker Murdoch Scholarship, and I am extraordinarily thankful ... Read more
As a 2020 recipient of the Elgin Wells, Jr. Starjammer CFI Scholarship, this past year I was able to complete my CFI rating. Achieving my CFI rating was one of ... Read more
I remember being excited, nervous, and anxious the first time I got in the left seat at the controls. I knew right after takeoff that this was something I wanted. ... Read more
I recently earned my Commercial ASEL certificate in my father’s 1948 Luscombe 8E in January 2021 with the help of EAA and the United Airlines Flight Operations Pilot Scholarship.
I have always been interested in becoming a private pilot, but something seemed to always get in the way. With the pandemic, I could not think of a more perfect ... Read more
I am excited to say I officially became a pilot on December 22, 2020, and I cannot express how happy I am. Receiving the scholarship took the worry out of ... Read more
When I first learned that I was chosen for one of the scholarships I had difficulty believing it. With the help of the scholarship, I was able to finance and ... Read more
All of my hard work had paid off and my dream of being a pilot came true. When I returned to my home airport, my instructor and parents were waiting ... Read more
Rocklin, California, resident Hannah Treehan, EAA 1371080, celebrated a momentous milestone for a 16-year-old when she soloed on Tuesday, November 24, just two days before Thanksgiving.
It’s been slightly more than seven years since I obtained my private pilot’s license. I always knew I wanted to continue my training beyond that and the instrument rating was ... Read more
Mother Nature provided some challenges for Jeremy, as the winds had been pretty strong. On September 25, Jeremy and his instructor did a couple “touch-and-goes” at the Northeast Ohio Regional ... Read more
This time on EAA’s The Green Dot, the crew sat down to share their thoughts, advice, and suggestions to any listeners considering learning to fly or early into their flight ... Read more
This time on EAA’s The Green Dot, the crew sat down to share their thoughts, advice, and suggestions to any listeners considering learning to fly or early into their flight ... Read more
Adverse yaw is the tendency for the nose of an airplane to yaw in the opposite direction when an airplane banks its wings for a turn. The increased lift of ... Read more
On July 2, 21-year-old Mac Copeland took another step toward joining the ranks of two generations of pilots before him by successfully soloing in a Cessna 172.
Aleana Cricks and Wylie Howe were both presented flight training scholarships from EAA Chapter 952 to help them earn their pilot certificates and become immersed in aviation.
Congratulations to Piper Hechtl on her first solo! Piper, EAA 1166354, soloed a Cessna 152 on May 5 at Tracy Municipal Airport in Tracy, California. Piper began her flight training ... Read more
Congratulations to EAA Vintage Chapter 25 Ray Aviation Scholarship recipient Tyler Pierson on his first, second, third, and fourth solo! Tyler soloed four times, at four different airports, in the ... Read more
Congratulations to EAA Chapter 976 Ray Aviation Scholarship recipient Tabitha Yeomans, EAA 1204058, who passed her private pilot checkride on January 12!
I passed my private pilot checkride, ultimately earning my certificate in less than seven months and contributing to the overall success of the Ray Aviation Foundation.
After hours of instruction, memorizing procedures and movements of the airplane, my instructor had prepared me for one of the biggest steps I would ever dream of taking as a ... Read more
Lily Busenbark, EAA 1293705, achieved a Ray scholar milestone on November 22, 2019, when she soloed in a PA-28-140 Cherokee at the Columbus Airport (KCSG) in Georgia.
Through the generous support of the Ray Foundation, EAA provided up to $10,000 to 100 deserving youths for their flight training expenses in 2019, with the support of EAA’s chapter ... Read more
Pilots and pilot prospects are all ages and come from all walks of life. To be a good instructor, one must be able to know and understand what makes each ... Read more
The experience and supervision of a good powered paragliding instructor will not only mitigate risk and safely guide students through the training process but also teach proper technique, correct faulty ... Read more
Earlier this summer, the four students who took part in the EAA Sport Pilot Academy all had one thing in common — they were college students who had nonflying aviation ... Read more
Respect for your airplane doesn’t just mean giving it a love tap on the engine cowling. It means that you truly care for your aircraft by carefully looking it over ... Read more
With flying season finally in full swing for most of the country, the Ray Aviation Scholarship program is celebrating a number of first solos this week!
I tried yet another aviation experience. This one, over the years, was never an itch I had to scratch, but it was always something I was interested in: gliders. (Yeah, ... Read more
Soft-field takeoff and landing techniques are a mandatory training segment for all sport, private, and commercial pilots. However, very few students ever experience true soft-field conditions.
Safely flying a tailwheel requires much more attention from the pilot than a tricycle-gear airplane, especially during taxi, takeoff, and landing. However, once in the air, a tailwheel airplane is ... Read more
The cost of getting into flying has always been important to those dreaming of becoming a pilot. One strategy for would-be sport pilots is to take flight training in their ... Read more
Years ago, every young pilot wannabe had to learn and perform the180-degree power-off approach and landing to pass the private pilot checkride. It took a bit of practice, but most ... Read more
I almost quit halfway through flight training. Apparently, I did not have the talent for flying. About a year prior to this dilemma, I woke up with the bright idea ... Read more
Seven weeks ago, my instructor Jamie Pittman, EAA 439727, told me he wanted me to take the FAA private pilot written exam by early January — before I solo and ... Read more
The FAA released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that amends a CFR to allow compensated flight training in E-LSA aircraft under certain circumstances.
Congratulations to 16-year-old Danielle Olson, EAA 784715, who soloed Memorial Day weekend after nearly lifelong preparation for the moment. Danielle’s aviation journey began with a flight at just 5 weeks ... Read more
Congratulations to Young Eagle Madison Malcomb, EAA 1207213, who soloed on her 16th birthday on April 19 in an experimental RV-12 after just 10 hours of instruction.
Congratulations to Chapter 444 President Brad Hahn, EAA 1098593, who successfully completed his first solo March 28 at the Waupaca County Airport. “Thanks to everyone that has helped me along this ... Read more
One of the toughest things about learning to fly is learning to trust the instruments, especially when they disagree with what we see and feel. However, we have no choice; ... Read more
Many congratulations to EAA’s 2 millionth Young Eagle, Jodie Gawthrop, EAA 1108302, who completed her first solo on March 9, less than a year after her flight with former Young ... Read more
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the EAA Young Eagles program in 2017, we’re featuring 25 Young Eagles whose stories inspire and exemplify the impact of the program. By ... Read more
By Hans Schroeder, EAA 43437 We all agree (I think) that once you catch the bug, flying never lets go of you no matter how long you abstain. And so, after ... Read more
Preflight, cruise, pre-landing, shut down, emergency — to name a few. Aviation is full of checklists. So if you’re interested in learning to fly, what better way to plan for ... Read more
Congratulations to Steve Shuter, EAA 1105380, who passed his checkride in April 2016 at Orlando Apopka Airport (X04) in Apopka, Florida. Steve successfully completed the checkride on his first attempt, ... Read more
January 12, 2017 – Congratulations to Alex Dietrich, grandson of Walter Dietrich, EAA 55519, who on January 4 became a third-generation pilot after passing his private checkride. After graduating high school ... Read more
December 29, 2016 – Congratulations to 16-year-old Declan Steinke, EAA 1112757, who soloed November 15 in the RV-12 Falcon 1 he helped build. Declan received his first Young Eagles flight two ... Read more
By Owen Leipelt, EAA 1102131, EAA Chapter 62 Vice President December 1, 2016 – In 2013, when I was 13 years old, I took my first Young Eagles flight with ... Read more
Congratulations to 16-year-old Justin McDowell, EAA 1174050, who completed his first solo October 31 in a Cessna 172 on floats off of Whitewater Lake in northern Ontario. Although he went ... Read more
October 27, 2016 – Bill Wemhoff, EAA 1167924, of Herndon, Virginia, earned his pilot certificate nearly 35 years ago in Nebraska but hadn’t flown since. Life got in the way and ... Read more
