The 30th anniversary of the EAA Young Eagles program is turning into a banner year for the program.
That’s according to a December 2023 update from David Leiting, Eagle Program Manager for the Experimental Aircraft Association.
“There has been an abundance of success stories of Young Eagles going on to pursue a future in aviation and several volunteer pilots met incredible milestones such as 1,000, 2,000, and even 3,000 total Young Eagles flown,” he reported.
“One of the most exciting notes I can share is that 2023 has the potential be the strongest year for Young Eagles activity since 2015,” he continued. “There are still plenty of waivers/registration forms to be entered, but we are eagerly awaiting the final numbers. Through the first 10 months of 2023, more Young Eagles have been flown than in all of 2022.”
Through October 2023, there were 53,805 Young Eagles flights.
That’s compared to 53,776 in all of 2022, 35,590 in 2021, and 8,006 in 2020, the year of the pandemic.
As of Dec. 14, 2,355,719 Young Eagles have taken flight since the program was founded in 1992.
The program uses volunteer pilots to introduce kids between the ages of 8 to 17 to aviation with a free introductory flight in a general aviation aircraft.
For more information: YoungEagles.org, EAA.org
Another Young Eagles milestone… EAA Chapter 579 at Aurora Airport (KARR) in Illinois flew its 20,000th Young Eagle in September. EAA 579 started flying Young Eagles when the program began and has continuously engaged avid volunteer pilots and ground crew, as well as Young Eagles, for the past 30 years.