The mission of EAA is to grow the aviation community by promoting the "Spirit of Aviation." Chapter 20 is particularly dedicated to inspiring students to learn about aviation and fostering their engagement through a range of programs. We help students enroll in and take advantage of all the benefits of free membership in the EAA national organization (free for age 8–18). EAA student members receive free admission to more than 400 science and technology museums under the ASTC Travel Passport Program and access to a free ground school online course. We intentionally strive to identify and nurture students interested in becoming aircraft pilots, aerospace engineers, and other aviation professionals. We support their career journey by connecting them to the national organization, participating in Young Eagles, and offering youth programs unique to our chapter, including building an RV-12, one-on-one mentorships, and a popular talk series.
Chapter 20 pilots have provided 9,380 Young Eagles airplane rides to youths since the program launched in 1992. Additionally, through a competitive selection process, EAA National has chosen Chapter 20 to award the prestigious Ray Scholarship of $10,000 toward a local student’s flight training each year since the scholarship program began in 2019. Chapter 20 funds scholarships to local students between the ages of 12 and 17 to attend the national EAA summer Air Academy in Oshkosh, WI. In earlier years we would fund the one or two students who wanted to attend. Due to the explosive growth in our youth program membership over the last few years, in 2019, we fundraised thousands of dollars to award five camp scholarships, which unfortunately have had to roll over twice due to camp being canceled in 2019 and 2020.
In 2017, EAA Chapter 20’s Board of Directors took a serious look at the projected pilot shortage and set an ambitious goal to help recruit the next generation of aviation professionals, especially pilots, by inviting high school students to collaboratively build a Van’s RV-12 kit airplane. Soon after, a team of chapter members and highschoolers started building a Van’s RV-12, which was bought in a series of kits and assembled over the course of nearly four years. The student builders were supervised, mentored, and assisted by adult chapter members with substantial depth and breadth of aviation experience, project management skills, and a passion for sharing their knowledge.
What We Achieve And Our Programs
The mission of EAA is to grow the aviation community by promoting the "Spirit of Aviation." Chapter 20 is particularly dedicated to inspiring students to learn about aviation and fostering their engagement through a range of programs. We help students enroll in and take advantage of all the benefits of free membership in the EAA national organization (free for age 8–18). EAA student members receive free admission to more than 400 science and technology museums under the ASTC Travel Passport Program and access to a free ground school online course. We intentionally strive to identify and nurture students interested in becoming aircraft pilots, aerospace engineers, and other aviation professionals. We support their career journey by connecting them to the national organization, participating in Young Eagles, and offering youth programs unique to our chapter, including building an RV-12, one-on-one mentorships, and a popular talk series.
Chapter 20 pilots have provided 9,380 Young Eagles airplane rides to youths since the program launched in 1992. Additionally, through a competitive selection process, EAA National has chosen Chapter 20 to award the prestigious Ray Scholarship of $10,000 toward a local student’s flight training each year since the scholarship program began in 2019. Chapter 20 funds scholarships to local students between the ages of 12 and 17 to attend the national EAA summer Air Academy in Oshkosh, WI. In earlier years we would fund the one or two students who wanted to attend. Due to the explosive growth in our youth program membership over the last few years, in 2019, we fundraised thousands of dollars to award five camp scholarships, which unfortunately have had to roll over twice due to camp being canceled in 2019 and 2020.
In 2017, EAA Chapter 20’s Board of Directors took a serious look at the projected pilot shortage and set an ambitious goal to help recruit the next generation of aviation professionals, especially pilots, by inviting high school students to collaboratively build a Van’s RV-12 kit airplane. Soon after, a team of chapter members and highschoolers started building a Van’s RV-12, which was bought in a series of kits and assembled over the course of nearly four years. The student builders were supervised, mentored, and assisted by adult chapter members with substantial depth and breadth of aviation experience, project management skills, and a passion for sharing their knowledge.
