Young Eagles Are Coming

We are happy to announce that Chapter 1541 has scheduled two Young Eagle Rallies for 2018, the first on Saturday, May 12, and the second on Saturday, September 29. For those few who may not be familiar, Young Eagles is an EAA program designed to introduce young people to aviation by offering a short, free airplane ride. The program was launched in 1992 and, nationwide, has provided well over 2 million rides. Our chapter has conducted several Young Eagles Rallies in years past and we’re going to move forward with Rallies this year also.

So what does this mean to you, the chapter member? Well, we need volunteers to help make this event a success. Volunteers are needed for pilots, ground handlers and event helpers. As you can see in the information provided below, the tasks are simple and will provide an opportunity to interact with the community in a positive way.

Our plans are still developing, but we expect that the May 12 Rally will be conducted between 8 am and 2 pm on Saturday. If plans materialize, we will also be offering a BBQ lunch in the late morning.

The Rally organizers need to determine which pilots in our chapter are currently qualified to participate as Young Eagle pilots. This would mean that you are on record with EAA headquarters with a completed and current background check. If you are such a pilot, have access to an airplane, and have interest in participating in our chapter’s Young Eagles Rallies, please let us know. We are making a list. (If you are not sure you are a currently qualified pilot, please contact us and we will help you find out).

Now, let’s look at what it takes to become a volunteer at our chapter Rallies.

Young Eagle Pilots:

  • Be a current EAA member and hold an appropriate airman’s certificate (Sport Pilot or greater)
  • Possess a current medical certificate (if applicable)
  • Be current to carry passengers in the aircraft you plan to use
  • Have a current BFR
  • Complete the simple online Young Eagles training course and basic background check, both of which need to have been completed within the last three years
  • For our events, have access to an aircraft that meets EAA requirements and has passenger liability insurance, preferably in amount that exceeds $100,000 per seat. (This amount allows a supplemental EAA policy to provide additional liability insurance.)
  • For our events, be a EAA Chapter 1541 member.

Young Eagle Ground Support (primarily helping Young Eagles to and from the airplane, providing ramp control, and ensuring ramp safety):

We have need for other event helpers too:

  • Support for a BBQ Lunch
  • Welcome table for registration and check-in
  • Aircraft dispatchers to match pilots/Young Eagles
  • Chapter information table
  • Chapter members to answer questions and meet new friends
  • Other stuff we are working on

For our May 12 Rally, we are early in the planning stages, but we will be going out to the Lincoln and larger community in a variety of ways to reach young people and spark some interest in aviation. Local schools, scouting, and other youth groups will be contacted to spread the word into the community. From our end, we are looking for a small cadre of volunteers to put this activity together. For the day of the event, we are looking for a larger group of help from our chapter members. It should be a well run and organized event so no one person will be overloaded and we will all have a good time.

Please respond to this if you want to get involved early, but the point of this post is to let you know about the events and allow everybody to start looking toward May 12 as one of our chapter’s main events for 2018.

We look forward to having a good time at an event that spreads the word about the exciting things to be found in aviation.