Ray Aviation Scholarship

Posted on June 24, 2024 by EAA186

 

Ray Aviation Scholarship Our 2024 Ray Scholar, Kobe Kerns, continues his flight instruction at the Winchester Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. Kobe began with Young Eagles in 2017. You may have seen his recent article in the May issue of Sport Aviation or even better with lots of pictures on the EAA website here.
Our 2023 Ray Scholar, Grant Peterson, has passed the FAA written exam and is working on his cross-country flying and preparation for the Private Pilot check ride. The Ray Scholarship pays $11,000 toward the flight training costs of obtaining a Private Pilot Certificate.
The required milestones are:
-First solo flight within three months;
-Pass the private pilot written exam within six months
-Pass the Private Pilot check ride within one year of receiving the initial funds.
Please note the scholarship process requires an FAA medical certificate prior to being considered for the scholarship.

 

 

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Young Eagles Update from Bob Prange

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Meredith Richards

EAA Young Eagles Logo

Our May 11 Young Eagles Rally was moved to May 18 due to an airspace conflict with a mass flyover event, then of course inclement weather forced cancellation of the May 18 rally. Our next Young Eagles Rallies are all from 0900 – 1300 at Manassas Airport:
June 29
July 13
August 10
Please note our next Young Eagles Rally is this Saturday, June 29 from 0900-1300.
To become a Young Eagles volunteer, ground support or pilot, proceed to yeday.org and use the “sign-up” feature. Let Bob know you have signed up so we can send you an invitation to volunteer. Young Eagles flights are available to kids between ages 8 and 17. We normally hold our rallies on the second Saturday each month. We use two time slots, 0900 and 1100 for the summer months.
Parents can register at yeday.org beginning at 0800 on the 1st of each month. Ground and Pilot Volunteers: About two to three weeks prior to a Young Eagles Rally, we prompt the yeday.org system to send an email to everyone in our Young Eagles volunteer database inviting you to click on “confirm” or “will not attend.” This helps us determine the staffing level so we can set the number of kids that can register for a ride. Expect an automatic reminder email on Wednesday three days prior to the Young Eagles Rally asking you to confirm again that you are still planning to volunteer. This gives us updated staffing level info.
To Young Eagles and Parents: The Sporty’s Learn- to-Fly course ($299 value) is available free after just one flight. The access code is on the back of your logbook. This will prepare you for the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Test, “the written.” Every FAA written exam (private, instrument, commercial, etc.) requires an endorsement from an instructor stating you are prepared to take the exam. Passing this course with at least an 80% grade lets you skip that step and gives you the required endorsement to take the Private Pilot written test. For more details about the Sporty’s Learn-to-Fly course, click here.
Chapter 186 Young Eagles Coordinators,
David Richards & Bob Prange

 

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Aluminum Overcast from Mary Dominiak

Posted on June 24, 2024 by EAA186
By now you all probably know that EAA moved our lovely B-17, Aluminum Overcast, into the Eagle Hangar at the EAA Museum to be on public display in the spot that was built to hold her once her flying days were past. The inevitable question is, has that day actually come, or will she fly again? I can’t claim to be a B-17 whisperer, but I stay plugged in to trustworthy sources in the community. While there haven’t been any definitive official declarations from EAA HQ, what I’m hearing from my feelers is encouraging news, despite everyone acknowledging that the road back to flight will be long, painstaking, and expensive.
Here’s why what I’m hearing makes me hopeful. First off, the folks in the Kermit Weeks Restoration Hangar spent the past several months rebuilding the empennage and much of the center section, repairing structural corrosion. Second, all the replacement wing terminals have already been forged (at a cost around $130,000), but they still need to be lathed and drilled. Third, Spirit Aviation is planning to supply the new spar tubes, but they’re still in the early stages of working out the process. None of these expensive repairs would be necessary if EAA planned simply to leave her on static display in the museum. They would have needed to stabilize her to prevent continuing deterioration, but not to go as far as they have. To me, the fourth point is the most telling one: another B-17 flying group offered a very attractive price for Aluminum Overcast’s airworthy engines, including an exchange of worn out engines that would still be fine for display. EAA refused to sell. EAA’s level of investment in restoring AO thus far indicates strongly to me that their intent is to have her fly. I’m guessing, however, that their public statements have been vague because they’re sufficiently concerned about all the uncertainties inherent in the process (B-17 spar tubes haven’t been made in decades) and in obtaining all the necessary funding to complete the job, that they don’t want to over-promise and then come up short.
On top of that, the regulatory environment around living history experience flights has always been fluid, and it’s possible that the FAA could at any time during the restoration process decide no longer to grant the exemptions necessary to permit such flights to continue. It’s a gamble with too many indeterminate factors to allow for calculating the odds with any confidence. The prudent course is to continue to work toward flight while not promising it will happen, and that appears to be what EAA is doing.
In the meantime, the fundraising continues! EAA just announced the availability of unique plane tags made by MotoArt with aluminum skin removed from AO’s upper wings during post-hail-damage repairs in 2014. Each PlaneTag is hand cut, stamped, and individually etched and numbered, making them each one-of-a-kind. Only 5,000 of these tags are available, so they aren’t cheap: EAA member prices range from $99 to $148.50, depending on the features of the etching and the aluminum used in the tag (ones with paint are more expensive than plain silver ones, for example). You’ll find them online at https://shop.eaa.org/ collections/eaa-b-17-aluminum-overcast-planetags. Twenty-five dollars from each tag sold goes to the preservation of Aluminum Overcast. Expect more fundraising announcements and opportunities as time goes on.
Mary Dominiak
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From the President

Posted on June 24, 2024 by Meredith Richards

 

You may recall at our April 27 Member Gathering we had a pancake breakfast in lieu of guest speaker. Young Chapter member Cliff Storey asked if he could bring some slides and present a few minutes of information about his sailplane experiences at Grant County Airport, WV. His topic was so riveting that the attendees kept him for 45 minutes with questions and discussion points. Now Cliff’s dad, John, has informed me that Cliff has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship from the Soaring Society of America (SSA). I believe that will help him finish his glider training at Front Royal. Congratulations Cliff!

Our May 25 speaker was our very own Chapter 186 member, Al Lawless, speaking about the Perlan 2 Project – the world record holding sailplane, the team who built it, and its adventures up to the middle stratosphere. Al Lawless was on the all-volunteer team to help with flight testing and envelope expansion and relayed first-hand accounts of these remarkable people in action.

In the classified section this month look for tools and an RV-10 empennage kit from Chapter member, Ryan Kensrud, relocating to Florida soon without space for a homebuilt project. It looks like a great selection of tools and parts.

We are planning a double event on June 29 both a Young Eagles Rally from 0900 to 1300 as well as our regular monthly member gathering at 1000 which will be a hamburger/hot dog cookout in lieu of a guest speaker. Please come out as we welcome the official start of summer with a cookout. If you haven’t seen a Young Eagles Rally in progress, this will be your chance. Many of our usual grilling and cookout experts are signed up to work the Young Eagles Rally so we are seeking volunteers to help with the cookout. We will have canopies near the builder hangar door to shade dining tables and the grilling station. So, at least come out and eat and if you feel like helping with the cookout, let me know at rsp10000@aol.com or Judy Sparks at jhsparks@comcast.net.

Blue Skies,

Bob Prange

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From the President

Posted on June 24, 2024 by EAA186

 

You may recall at our April 27 Member Gathering we had a pancake breakfast in lieu of guest speaker. Young Chapter member Cliff Storey asked if he could bring some slides and present a few minutes of information about his sailplane experiences at Grant County Airport, WV. His topic was so riveting that the attendees kept him for 45 minutes with questions and discussion points. Now Cliff’s dad, John, has informed me that Cliff has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship from the Soaring Society of America (SSA). I believe that will help him finish his glider training at Front Royal. Congratulations Cliff!

Our May 25 speaker was our very own Chapter 186 member, Al Lawless, speaking about the Perlan 2 Project – the world record holding sailplane, the team who built it, and its adventures up to the middle stratosphere. Al Lawless was on the all-volunteer team to help with flight testing and envelope expansion and relayed first-hand accounts of these remarkable people in action.

In the classified section this month look for tools and an RV-10 empennage kit from Chapter member, Ryan Kensrud, relocating to Florida soon without space for a homebuilt project. It looks like a great selection of tools and parts.

We are planning a double event on June 29 both a Young Eagles Rally from 0900 to 1300 as well as our regular monthly member gathering at 1000 which will be a hamburger/hot dog cookout in lieu of a guest speaker. Please come out as we welcome the official start of summer with a cookout. If you haven’t seen a Young Eagles Rally in progress, this will be your chance. Many of our usual grilling and cookout experts are signed up to work the Young Eagles Rally so we are seeking volunteers to help with the cookout. We will have canopies near the builder hangar door to shade dining tables and the grilling station. So, at least come out and eat and if you feel like helping with the cookout, let me know at rsp10000@aol.com or Judy Sparks at jhsparks@comcast.net.

Blue Skies,

Bob Prange

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Young Eagles Rally and Chapter 186 Picnic moved to 6-29

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Meredith Richards
Due to excessive heat, we are moving both the Chapter 186 picnic and the Young Eagles Rally to June 29.
The Young Eagles Rally on June 29 will operate from 0900 to 1300.  Registration for parents will begin at 8:00 AM on Sunday June 23.   We ask that pilot and ground volunteers use the yeday.org email request to volunteer again, even if they had already volunteered for June 22.
The picnic is our monthly gathering in lieu of a speaker.  Please come by for burgers, hot dogs and other goodies.  Coffee and doughnuts will start at 10:00; we’ll start to cook around 10:30.  If you would like to help with grilling, let Judy Sparks know at jhsparks@comcast.net or 703-581-7667.
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Young Eagles Rally and Chapter 186 Picnic moved to 6-29

Posted on June 21, 2024 by EAA186
Due to excessive heat, we are moving both the Chapter 186 picnic and the Young Eagles Rally to June 29.
The Young Eagles Rally on June 29 will operate from 0900 to 1300.  Registration for parents will begin at 8:00 AM on Sunday June 23.   We ask that pilot and ground volunteers use the yeday.org email request to volunteer again, even if they had already volunteered for June 22.
The picnic is our monthly gathering in lieu of a speaker.  Please come by for burgers, hot dogs and other goodies.  Coffee and doughnuts will start at 10:00; we’ll start to cook around 10:30.  If you would like to help with grilling, let Judy Sparks know at jhsparks@comcast.net or 703-581-7667.
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Young Eagles Rally for 6/22 Cancelled

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Meredith Richards

Due to excessive heat we must cancel the Saturday June 22 Young Eagles Rally at Manassas Airport. We plan to have a rally on Saturday June 29. Parents, please watch YoungEaglesDay.org for registration to open at 8:00 AM on this Sunday or Monday. Volunteers, look for an email request to volunteer for the June 29 rally. Thank you for understanding.

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No Water at the Chapter House – 6/14

Posted on June 14, 2024 by EAA186

Due to a water leak, water to the chapter house will  been turned off this afternoon.  We expect the water will be off until early next week when the city is expecting to make repairs.

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Combined Monthly Membership Cookout and Young Eagles Rally on 6-22

Posted on June 13, 2024 by Meredith Richards

In lieu of a guest speaker, we plan to have a cookout, burgers and dogs.  We will need a cadre of volunteers to set up and grill, separate from our pilot and ground volunteers for the rally.  The YE Rally will be the usual 0900 to 1300.  The cookout meeting will start at 1000 with coffee and doughnuts and start to serve burgers and dogs at about 1030.  If you can help with the cookout, watch this website for a volunteer sheet.

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