70 Years of Dreamers and Doers

BY SAM OLESON AIRVENTURE TODAY STAFF

SEVENTY YEARS AGO, on January 26, 1953, EAA was officially founded. That first meeting took place in a classroom at Gran-Aire Inc. at Curtiss-Wright Airport (now Timmerman field) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with 36 pilots and aviation enthusiasts in attendance. Over the past seven decades, EAA headquarters has moved a few times and the annual members convention and fly-in has shifted around, but one thing has remained the same — the organization’s dedication to spreading The Spirit of Aviation. As we celebrate EAA’s platinum anniversary at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023, each day we’ll share highlights from a different decade of our history.

July 1990: The highly secretive F-117 Nighthawk visits EAA Oshkosh for the first time.

May 1992: EAA unveils its new Young Eagles program at a news conference in Washington, D.C., and Academy Awardwinning actor Cliff Robertson is announced as the program’s first chairman.

July 1992: The first Young Eagles flights take place at EAA Oshkosh, with the goal of providing 1 million flights by the centennial of flight in 2003.

March 1994: EAA’s B-17 Flying Fortress Aluminum Overcast leaves on its first national tour.

July 1994: EAA’s Flight Advisors program is announced at EAA Oshkosh, which allows experienced homebuilders and restorers to provide counsel to homebuilding and aircraft restoration newcomers. Also in 1994, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the moon landing, 15 Apollo astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Jim Lovell, attend EAA Oshkosh.

1995: EAA’s Aviation Medical Examiner Pilot Advocates program is launched. This program allows doctors to begin advising pilots who may be having trouble obtaining their medical certificates.

1998: EAA’s Air Academy Lodge, which serves as headquarters and lodging for the Air Academy educational camps, is completed. 1999: EAA establishes the Homebuilt Aircraft Council to better serve the needs of the expanding homebuilt aircraft community.