The Young Eagles

Background
In 1991, the EAA Aviation Foundation conducted a survey of long-time Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) members to help determine the organization's future priorities. Nearly 92 percent said EAA's primary objective should be to involve more young people in aviation. On May 13,1992, following several months of coordination by members of the EAA and Foundation Boards of Directors, EAA management, staff and volunteers, the Young Eagles Program was announced at a Washington, D.C., news conference. The program took flight during the 1992 EAA Fly-In Convention in Oshkosh, WI (July 3 1 - Aug. 6). Academy Award winning actor and pilot Cliff Robertson served as the program's first Honorary Chairman. Currently, Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier, serves as Honorary Chair. Since the program was launched, more than 250,000 young people worldwide have experienced a Young Eagle flight.

Mission
The mission of the Young Eagles Program is to provide a meaningful flight experience for 1 million young people (primarily between the ages of 8 and 17) by the year 2003 - the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight - and the 50th anniversary of EAA.

Objectives
The Young Eagles Program hopes to achieve a number of objectives. They include:
a) Encourage young people to become interested in flying;
b) Provide young people with an opportunity to gain new perspectives on their community, their lives and the world in which they live,
c) Raise awareness of aviation career possibilities;
d) Help young people understand the knowledge necessary to become a pilot
e) Respond to concerns that the nation's pool of pilots is growing smaller because of fewer new pilot starts and the number of pilots who are growing older - a situation that could cause a shortage of military and commercial pilots by the year 2000.

Action
To reach 1 million young people:
a) EAA volunteer pilots identify young people who wish to participate in the Young Eagles Program and provide them with a free demonstration ride;
b) Young Eagle Flight Rallies are organized at local airports. During these events, parents can bring their children to experience the exhilaration of flight;
c) Members of EAA's Chapter network sponsor Young Eagle activities (including flights) in their area;
d) Flight events organized by affiliated organizations are considered on an individual basis.

Recognition
Each Young Eagle participant receives an official Eagle Flight Certificate, signed by the pilot, following their flight experience. The name of each participant is then entered into the "World's Largest Logbook," which is on permanent display at the EAA Air Adventure Museum in Oshkosh, Wis.

Information
For more information on the EAA Aviation Foundation's "Young Eagles" Program, contact the Young Eagles Office, P.O. Box 2683, Oshkosh, WI 54903-2683 or call (414) 426-4831. Young Eagles information is also available through the World Wide Web at http://www.eaa.org.

Torrance Young Eagles
EAA Chapter 96 has been operating the Young Eagles Program since 1995 at both Torrance Airport and Compton Airport. Contact Glenn Parkinson at (310) 374-4812 to learn how you can participate as a Young Eagle or as a volunteer pilot.