Message for Parents/Guardians

What is EAA and the EAA Aviation Foundation?

The EAA is an international aviation membership association founded in 1953.  More than 170,000 people belong to EAA, with Chapters located in all 50 states and many countries.  Members are aviation enthusiasts of every age group, including many airline and commercial pilots, engineers, business people, even astronauts.  They enjoy all types of airplanes, including "experimental" aircraft (a category of airplanes designated by the FAA, built by individual craftsmen instead of on a factory assembly line).  The Young Eagles Program is sponsored by the EAA Aviation Foundation, a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and fulfillment of  potential through personal flight.

How safe is flying?

Flying in an airplane is safer than many other forms of recreation.  Each Young Eagle Flight takes place in a FAA registered airplane flown by a licensed pilot.  The flight is conducted according to federal regulations. No aerobatic or non-standard maneuvers will be performed.  Read more on Flying Facts.

Retired General Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager was the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound.  A World War II "ace" with more than 14,000 hours of flight experience, General Yeager attributes personal achievement to having high goals as a young person: "My beginnings back in West Virginia tell who I am to this day. Mom and Dad taught by example.  Whatever I did, I determined to do the best I could at it.  Through the Young Eagles Program, kids can learn to set high goals in all walks of life."