Introducing young people to aviation has been a significant part of the EAA’s mission for decades. The Young Eagles program has already given more than 2 million young people ages 8-17 their first airplane ride.
This year’s AirVenture will highlight 35 years of another popular EAA program, the Air Academy. The Air Academy will be featured in a unique EAA Aviation Museum exhibit that opens to the public July 23. The EAA’s Executive Director of Resident Education Chuck Larson created the Air Academy in 1984 as a way to get young people involved in aviation by experiencing the industry through hands-on demonstrations, flight simulations, and other activities. The EAA Air Academy is recognized as the longest running aviation resident education camp in the United States. MSN Money ranked the Air Academy as one of the top 10 summer camps “worth the money” for “providing the foundation for a lifelong love of aviation.”
The new exhibit will feature stories about past Air Academy graduates. Some have become general aviation pilots, joined the U.S. military, become air traffic controllers or dispatchers and even joined the ranks of EAA Young Eagles volunteer pilots. The exhibit will also highlight Air Academy features including mechanical skills, teambuilding and the communication skills essential to aviation.
“The 35th Anniversary display for the EAA Air Academy is a visual montage of the history of the EAA Air Academy Camp program,” says EAA Air Academy Camp Director Scott Cameron. “The display showcases how young people have made an impact on various aspects of the aviation world.”
The EAA Aviation Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EAA members receive free museum admission year-round.
