July 27, 2019November 3, 2025

A Deserving Salute

AirVenture, Honoring The Past, Why We Fly

The warbirds around the grounds aren’t alone in having served their country. While airplanes usually take center stage at AirVenture, EAA makes it a priority to take a moment to ... Read more

July 26, 2019October 20, 2025

Back in the Family ⁠— A Glasair With History Returns to the Fold

Member Stories, Why We Fly

By Barbara A. Schmitz Austin Bowman, then 14, recalled being upset, even mad, when his parents sold the family’s Glasair in 2000 that his dad, Skip, had built soon after ... Read more

July 25, 2019October 20, 2025

Whirling Around the World — Taking a Gyroplane on a Worldwide Journey

Member Stories, Why We Fly

In 2003, Norman Surplus, then 40, was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The prognosis wasn’t good. “They gave me a 40 percent chance to live 18 months,” he recalled. As he ... Read more

July 22, 2019October 28, 2025

A Super Group — The New Holstein Super Cub Fly-In

Chapters, Why We Fly

Pilots and aviation enthusiasts alike gathered in New Holstein on Sunday, July 21, to share their passion for flight. The New Holstein Super Cub Fly-In started in 2002 and was ... Read more

June 13, 2019October 16, 2025

Dedicated to Perfection

Honoring The Past, Why We Fly

It was an emotional reunion as a group of Stinsons gathered to honor an old friend.

June 12, 2019November 5, 2025

Where the Fun Is — The Harter Family’s Aeronca 11AC

Vintage, Why We Fly

The Harter family of Greenfield, Indiana, has developed and nurtured a special affinity for one particular 1946 Aeronca 11AC Chief since 1996. It all started with a Piper Cub.

June 6, 2019November 6, 2025

Relay Gives Pilots a Reason to Fly

Why We Fly

A bunch of pilots plus one well-traveled stuffed bear shows that GA is alive and well in Virginia.

May 30, 2019November 7, 2025

Farewell Funk

Member Stories, Why We Fly

It’s never easy to say goodbye to an airplane.

May 23, 2019October 20, 2025

The Story That Speedy Told Me

Member Stories, Why We Fly

Dale Mitchell, EAA 766538, shares a special story of how one airplane can make a large impact on many people.

May 16, 2019November 6, 2025

International Learn to Fly Day!

Learn to Fly, Why We Fly

International Learn to Fly Day is this Saturday! Are you thinking about taking the first steps to earning your pilot certificate? We can help! EAA has developed pathways to flight ... Read more

May 16, 2019November 6, 2025

Landing the Space Shuttle — An Incredible Flying Machine and the Thrill of a Lifetime

Member Stories, Why We Fly

This was my first landing at the controls of Atlantis, and it was the culmination of a 10-day mission to the Russian Mir to deliver supplies and a fresh crew ... Read more

May 2, 2019November 6, 2025

The Cross-Country of a Lifetime

EAA Museum, Member Stories, Why We Fly

Arnold Ebneter planned for decades to make an epic solo cross-country flight, and eventually he was able to take that great adventure that so many who pursue aviation dream of.

April 25, 2019October 17, 2025

One Hundred Years Young

Member Stories, Why We Fly

I asked a 100-year-old World War II bomber pilot if he wanted to go for a gyroplane ride. He said he’d love to, as soon as he was finished with ... Read more

April 18, 2019October 29, 2025

Watching Stratolaunch Make History

Member Stories, Why We Fly

It’s dawn in the desert. In the gray early morning light Stratolaunch, the largest airplane ever built, hulks silently at the opposite end of the 12,503-by 200-foot runway.

April 17, 2019October 16, 2025

New Learning — Giving Gliders a Go

Why We Fly

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

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