Tag Archives: kitplanes

Historic youth aviation education program kicked off at Oshkosh in 1992

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Historic youth aviation education program kicked off at Oshkosh in 1992

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — (April 21, 2022) — The EAA Young Eagles program, the largest youth aviation program ever created, will celebrate its 30th anniversary during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022, the event where the program began in 1992. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is July 25-31 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The AirVenture activities include flights, forums, and recognition throughout the week, which will kick off a full year of 30th anniversary commemorations. Special focus on Young Eagles will take place on Thursday, July 28.

“Over the past three decades, more than 50,000 volunteer EAA-member pilots have flown nearly 2.3 million young people, with thousands of those Young Eagles inspired to pursue their own aviation dreams and careers,” said David Leiting, EAA’s Eagles Programs Manager. “At Oshkosh this year, we want to recognize those volunteers, build on the program’s successes, encourage new pilots to get involved, and celebrate the lives that have been influenced by the Young Eagles program.”

Among the activities scheduled for July 28 are:

  • Young Eagles flights in the Ford Tri-Motor and Bell 47 helicopter with young people chosen through local EAA chapters
  • An 1:30 p.m. group photo on Boeing Plaza that day, open to all previous Young Eagles, Young Eagles pilots, and volunteers
  • A ceremonial 30th anniversary Young Eagles flight prior to the afternoon air show, recognizing the impact of the program on the aviation community
  • An evening program at EAA’s Theater in the Woods, featuring noteworthy Young Eagles, scholarship recipients, and other special guests

Throughout the week, the goal is to fly at least 30 Young Eagles during AirVenture. Additional flights will take place in EAA’s powered parachute in the Fun Fly Zone. An expanded Young Eagles presence on the grounds all week will include a pavilion adjacent to the Learn to Fly Center and prop cards available for any airplane at Oshkosh that has been used to fly Young Eagles. Additional activities will be announced as they are confirmed.

After the Young Eagles program’s introduction at a Washington, D.C., news conference in May 1992, the first flights took place on July 31, 1992, during that year’s EAA Fly-In Convention. The initial flights were piloted by EAA president Tom Poberezny and Young Eagles’ first chairman, pilot and Academy Award-winning actor Cliff Robertson. To learn more about the Young Eagles program, visit www.YoungEagles.org.

About EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration” and EAA’s membership convention. Additional information, including advance ticket and camping purchase, is available at www.EAA.org/airventure. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or visit www.EAA.org. Immediate news is available at www.twitter.com/EAA.

EAA celebrates Van’s Aircraft RV 50th anniversary at AirVenture 2022

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50th anniversary reunion for Van’s RV aircraft highlights homebuilt aircraft activities at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022

Owners of all RV types invited to join activities at Oshkosh

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — (February 25, 2022) — The 50th anniversary of Van’s Aircraft RV series, which has become the world’s most popular kit airplane, will be a major element of homebuilt aircraft activities at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2022.

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the 69th edition of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s fly-in convention, is July 25-31 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.

“While aircraft kits have existed for more than a century, it was 50 years ago that Richard VanGrunsven introduced a model that would move the homebuilt movement into an age where kit aircraft would become dominant,” said Charlie Becker, EAA’s director of chapters and homebuilt community manager. “Today, more than 11,000 completed RV models are the direct descendants of that first RV-3 in 1972. We invite all of them to be present at Oshkosh as we celebrate a half-century of success.”

A number of special events are planned as part of the 50-year celebration. Those include:

  • Special Van’s RV parking areas in the AirVenture homebuilt aircraft area
  • Multiple forums and workshops focused on RV aircraft throughout the week
  • RV aircraft flying during the AirVenture air shows
  • A July 25 evening program at Theater in the Woods with VanGrunsven, highlighting the history of the company that began as a backyard shop in Oregon

VanGrunsven began Van’s Aircraft with a clean design, then selling plans and a few parts he manufactured himself for those aircraft. Soon the company began manufacturing complete airplane kits and introducing new models that after 50 years now include the latest design, the RV-14. More than 400 kits each year are shipped to builders around the world from the Van’s factory in Aurora, Oregon.

Specific details on all AirVenture activities during the 50-year anniversary will be announced as they are finalized. Van’s RV aircraft owners are encouraged to pre-register for the designated aircraft parking area at EAA.org/AircraftAnniversaries.

About EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration” and EAA’s membership convention. Additional information, including advance ticket and camping purchase, is available at www.EAA.org/airventure. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or visit www.EAA.org. Immediate news is available at www.twitter.com/EAA.

FAA flight training policy changes

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GA groups: FAA flight training policy changes will reduce safety, create administrative logjam

Agency’s interpretation threatens to halt most training in experimental aircraft

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — (June 9, 2021) — Federal Aviation Administration policy interpretations on flight training arising out of a recent court decision will have a chilling impact on general aviation safety and create a bureaucratic nightmare for pilots and federal officials, according to numerous GA groups including the Experimental Aircraft Association.

In a letter sent to FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson, the groups called the policy changes “unnecessary and unwarranted guidelines based on irrational legal positions” and called for the FAA to immediately revise the policy to prevent degraded safety in flight training and unnecessary legal battles. The combined groups noted that they are “prepared to use all available means to ensure this situation is corrected as soon as possible.”

“Why the FAA would want to diminish the flight training that made the U.S. aviation system the safest in the world boggles the mind, but that’s what these new policies will do,” said Jack J. Pelton, EAA’s CEO and chairman of the board. “For years, the FAA has correctly stated that training in the specific make and model of aircraft to be routinely operated, with a well-qualified instructor, is the best training. These policies would unnecessarily limit that access and measure of safety.”

The GA groups noted four specific areas where safety would be diminished or bureaucratic backlogs created:

  • Prohibiting owners of experimental aircraft from receiving flight instruction in their own aircraft without specific FAA permission to do so in the form of a Letter of Deviation Authority (LODA): With nearly 40,000 experimental category aircraft on the registry, Flight Standard District Offices would quickly be overwhelmed by applications for a LODA where there is no legal requirement to have one. That creates an additional barrier to aviation safety and is contrary to FAA’s own mission.
  • Prohibiting owners of more than 300 limited category aircraft from receiving flight instruction in their own aircraft with specific FAA permission in the form of an exemption: Never before has the FAA required limited aircraft owners to obtain an exemption to be trained in their own aircraft, nor is there a legal requirement to do so. This change will not further aviation safety.
  • Prohibiting owners of primary category aircraft from receiving flight instruction in their own aircraft without specific FAA permission to do so in the form of an exemption: The FAA does not have policy in place to issue such an exemption and it is unknown how long it would take to issue such exemptions.
  • Limiting access to flight training in a specific make and model of an aircraft: The FAA must issue a policy affirming the pathways that allow owners to obtain training in their own aircraft. To not do so creates an immediate and significant hindrance to flight safety.

The policy grew from a cease-and-desist order from FAA to Warbird Adventures in Kissimmee, Florida, to which a U.S. Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion that allowed the order to stand. EAA and other aviation groups filed an amicus brief cautioning the court to narrowly tailor its decision consistent with historic FAA policy preventing compensation for aircraft use in training. That would stop negative consequences on a wide range of flight instruction activities provided to owners in their own aircraft.

“What the FAA has done here is exactly the negative effects we in the GA community had warned about when we filed the amicus brief, regardless of the particulars of that specific case,” Pelton said. “The agency has not only created great confusion in the flight training community, it has countered its own mission that emphasizes safety. It’s important that the FAA revisit this immediately and not enforce any new policies until this is resolved.”

About EAA

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and embodies The Spirit of Aviation through the world’s most engaged community of aviation enthusiasts. EAA’s 240,000 members and 900 local chapters enjoy the fun and camaraderie of sharing their passion for flying, building and restoring recreational aircraft. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or go to www.eaa.org. For continual news updates, connect with www.twitter.com/EAA.