Twin County Young Eagles

NOTICE: Chapter 1426 will meet at 7:00 p.m. at the Twin County Airport, TCA Hangar lobby, July 10, 2008
See the June 4 Rally page for more pictures of the Rally held for the Woodlawn School's 21st Century class. Here are the children who received free airplane rides and became Young Eagles.

Tyler Ward of Galax is the new Aviation Space Camp winner for 2008. Select the EAA Chapter 1426 menu option to see further information about Tyler

Young Eagles Rally Held April 19, 2008

Saturday, April 19, kids took to the skies once again as seven generous pilots and many EAA Chapter 1426 worker bees made it happen. Seventy-three flights were made. Pilots were Jody Early, Bill Bryant, Dr. Tom Littrell, Lewis Walker, Jeff Arnold, Scott Thomas, and Bob Steele. Click on the April 19, 2008 YE Rally menu item to see the pictures.

Josh Early Accepted to Air Force Academy

Josh Early, son of Jody and Susan Early of Hillsville, VA and a student member of Chapter 1426, has been accepted into the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. He will graduate from Carroll County High School, Hillsville, VA in May and depart in June for the Academy. Congratulations to Josh and his family for this outstanding achievement. EAA Chapter 1426 is extremely proud of this student member of the Chapter. The February meeting will honor Josh for this achievement.

The article to the right is displayed with permission from Christopher Brooke of The Gazette

Young Eagles Fly Again (See some pics on the Sept. 22 YE Rally Page)

Eager pilots and kids had to wait for the heavy fog to dissipate Saturday morning, Sept. 22, before they could take to the skies. Chapter members came out in full force to help with this event.

The generous pilots included Scott Pardue of Mountain Empire Airport with his Citaubra, Greg Seibert of Raleigh, NC, with his Cardinal, Jeff Arnold from Dublin with his Searey, Lewis Walker with his Bonanza A36, Bill Bryant with his Hughes 269 Helicopter, and Bob Steele of Woodlawn with his Cessna 172.

A delicious lunch of chili made by member Mark Aufrecht of Christiansburg and pies and other desserts provided by members and friends were enjoyed by the attendees.

NASA Space Camp Scholarship winner Nick Johnson drew the winning ticket for the pedal plane. The winner is Fred Worth of Toledo, Ohio. The ticket had been sold at the flea market. Heartfelt thanks go to Love Cox for allowing the EAA Chapter to set up in her yard to sell the raffle tickets during the Flea Market.

Brian Thomas perfected the use of the simulator for Ground School and our Ground Schoolers put it to effective use. When one young child boarded one of the planes and saw the instrument panel, he told the pilot, “That looks just like the simulator!”

The Low Gap Flyers were professionals. Two different types of aircraft were flown, a Sopwith and a YAK-54-type unlimited aerobatic airplane. Both flying demonstrations were perfectly flown. There was also an RC simulator available.

Ten Young Eagles Flown on August 10, 2007

On Friday, August 10, pilot Tim Brown and visiting pilot from Virginia Beach, Chris Thomas, flew ten kids who became Young Eagles for the first time. These kids came from Hosanna’s Place, a non-denominational outreach center. The center works with children ages three and up. The children learn about Christ and everyday living principles. It is a Bible-based organization that got its start a year ago with five children and they now have over sixty children in the program. The founders are Kevin and Kisha Johnson. Five team leaders currently work with these children. Click on the Hosanna menu selection to view the pictures.

Three Young Eagles Flown on August 4, 2007

Pilots Tim Brown and Bill Bryant flew three children, Riki Farmer, Rachel Farmer, and Ryan Farmer on Saturday, August 4. These names will be added to the Young Eagles database at Oshkosh.

Hospice Young Eagles Rally, Friday, June 29, 2007

Forty-one kids took to the skies, and became Young Eagles at Twin County Airport on June 29, 2007. The Twin County Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1426 pilots and worker-bees made it possible for 35 kids in the Twin County Hospice’s Healing Hearts Camp to receive free airplane rides. This year the Hospice camp was called Wings of Hope. These were kids who are grieving from the loss of loved ones. Also, in the group were six students from Corey Hawks’ enrichment summer school class at Woodlawn School.

Five pilots participated in this event, Tim Brown, Bill Bryant, Jody Early, Dr. Tom Littrell, and Bob Steele.

Shirley Steele registered the kids for the event. Marcus Ogle conducted the ground school that the kids went through before boarding the planes. Janet Tate, Beverly Brown, and Ina Jacobs dispatched the kids to the airplanes. Nancy Beasley, Terri Johnson-Gregory, and Emily Gile awarded certificates.

Lynn Layher, the airport manager, was the air boss.

Brian Thomas and Sam Ayers conducted the computerized simulations.

The event was featured on Channel 10, WSLS, news and Fox News, Channel 27 on Friday evening. The reporter was Ashley Roberts.

After the flights, the Hospice and EAA enjoyed a delicious picnic at the home of Jim and Betty Ward near the airport.

View the Hospice YE Rally page to see pictures and the names of the children who are new Young Eagles.

Successful Young Eagles Rally Held May 12

The skies were soaring once again above Twin County Airport on Saturday, May 12, as six generous pilots gave over 110 free rides to kids, making them Young Eagles! Janet Tate did another awesome job of coordinating the fourth Young Eagles Rally for Chapter 1426 of EAA.

Over 1.3 million kids have been flown worldwide by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Twin County Chapter 1426 is quickly increasing that number! This phenomenal group of individuals who are interested in helping kids and motivating them to learn about aviation continues to make history at Twin County Airport.

Click on the May 12 Young Eagles Rally menu selection to learn more about this wonderful day in the history of aviation at Twin County Airport.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The next meeting of Chapter 1426 will be on Thursday, June 14, 2007 at the TCA Hangar at Twin County Airport. All persons interested in promoting aviation are welcome to attend. Contact person is Bob Steele at 728-7100.

Pedal Plane Raffle

Here is the plane that is going to be raffled to be chosen on September 22. Proceeds will go to the Emily Gile Scholarship Foundation and be used to send kids to aviation camp. This pedal plane is worth over $300. It is built for kids ages 3 - 7. Here you see Jacob Bryant enjoying it.

Tickets can be purchased from any EAA Member or call 728-7100.

YOUNG EAGLES PROGRAM GENERAL FACTS

Background:

In 1991, a survey of long-time Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) members was conducted 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. The survey also showed that a flight experience helped guide the respondents toward aviation. On May 13, 1992, following several months of coordination by members of the EAA Board of Directors, EAA management, staff and volunteers, the Young Eagles Program was announced at a Washington, D.C., news conference.

Mission:

The mission of the Young Eagles Program is to provide a meaningful flight experience - free of charge - in a general aviation aircraft for young people(primarily between the ages of 8 and 17). Flights are provided through the generous volunteer efforts of EAA members world wide.

First Flights:

The program took flight during the 1992 EAA Fly-In Convention in Oshkosh, Wis. EAA President Tom Poberemy and Academy Award winning actor and pilot Cliff Robertson flew the first Young Eagles on July 31, 1992. In addition, Robertson served as the program's first Honorary Chairman. Between 1994 and 2004, General Gen. Chuck Yeager, the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound, served as Chairman. On March 8, 2004, pilot and actor Harrison Ford was named as Yeager's successor as Chairman. Ford is an EAA member and has already flown nearly 200 Young Eagles. Gen. Yeager remains involved in the Young Eagles program as Chairman Emeritus.

Status:

The initial goal of the program was to fly I million children in time for the l00th anniversary of flight celebration (Dec. 17, 2003). The 1 million Young Eagle mark was achieved on November 13, 2003. Currently, more than 1.3 million Young Eagles have been registered. An on-going annual of goal of introducing 100,000 children to the Young Eagles experience has now been established

Pilots:

More than 40,000 EAA member pilots have participated in the program. Pilots volunteer their time and aircraft to make the flights possible. In addition, countless thousands of other volunteers and supporters assist the program in a variety of roles.

Information:

For more information on the EAA Young Eagles Program contact the Young Eagles Office
P.O. Box 2683
Oshkosh, WI 54903-2683
FAX (920)-426-6560
E-mail at yeagles@eaa.org
Call toll free 877-806-8902
(920) 426-4831.

Young Eagles information is also available at www.youngeagles.org

The Local Contacts are Bob and Shirley Steele at (276) 728-7100

An Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter has been formed for the Twin counties. It is the Twin County EAA Chapter 1426 Incorporated. A new website will be created for this chapter with further information. The next meeting is on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006 at the Airport terminal.