Complying??? Do you realize what this sounds like? This is supposed to be a member run organization, not some "big brother" overseers we have to "comply" with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark van Wyk
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Complying??? Do you realize what this sounds like? This is supposed to be a member run organization, not some "big brother" overseers we have to "comply" with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark van Wyk
This is true to a point, but it certainly does not excuse the poor communication from HQ on this issue. A for-profit corporation that handled crisis communication as poorly as EAA is handling this would probably not survive. If the potential loss of it's most visible and successful program doesn't constitute a crisis, I'm not sure what would. The days of stonewalling, "no comment" and hoping the storm blows over went out with the 56K modem.Quote:
Originally Posted by smutny
They still haven't answered the issue. They silently made the SSN optional (in a dumbass way, took me two passes to realize while it is OPTIONAL I'm required to put in 9's in that field).
They still haven't properly explained who 8f7.com is. It is NOT who they say it is. Several of us have figured it out but the official explanation is wanting.
While an avalanche of opinion on this issue has already been posted, I can't help adding my two cents. I participated in the YE program from the beginning, and I was the first YE coordinator for my chapter in CA. When I read of the new Youth Protection requirements, I felt a deep sadness that a great program that did good for aviation will now be breathing its last.
EAA has been a holdout to a simpler, more rational America than the place we live in today. At Oshkosh we enjoy being among like minded individuals whose major addiction is Aviation. We live in a decent world in which our dedication is to a wholesome endeavor, figuratively and literally aspiring to a higher plane of human existence. Now we find that the sludge of modern life will reach out and drag even us down into the mire as well.
Two of my hundred plus Young Eagles went on to careers in aviation. I feel good about that, as well as the good will that was generated within our local communities by the program. I see few of us who will submit ourselves to this requirement necessary to continue to give of our time and resources to this program, no matter how well motivated we may be. Just another casualty of our modern world.
I just want to step in for a second and comment on this on a personal level. I am the president of the Employee Flying Club at EAA, which helps pilots on staff stay current and welcomes new staff members to the joys of flying with an in-house support system that allows them to pursue those dreams. While we have a sizeable number of pilots on staff at EAA, in the past few years that we have been active our club has licensed about half a dozen new pilots and soloed several more. Glory, the moderator of this forum, is a very enthusiastic member of our current crop of students. Even many of the staffers who choose not to earn their license participate in flying club events and discover more about our great EAA community.Quote:
Originally Posted by cub builder
While I came to EAA as a pilot, I had never built an airplane before. Thanks to our staff build project – a Zenith 750 STOL – I am now intimately familiar with aircraft electrical systems, as I built most of ours. I also got my tailwheel endorsement through our club. There is always room to grow and develop in this community, and if we are going to survive we must welcome all comers who share our passion.
I agree that an organization of pilots, builders, and enthusiasts must have the same interests at its very heart, and be closely connected to the community. But I take exception to the accusation that staff members who do not fly or were not hired as pilots are “out of touch.” We’re making pilots here, and some of our newest pilots are now the most active members of our club – I’m not sure what encompasses grassroots aviation more than that.
My husband and I don't belong to a local EAA Chapter, as there isn't one close to us here in Missouri. In spite of that, we've taken almost 1,000 Young Eagles combined. That's not counting the many, many kids we took flying before the Young Eagles program started. We've promoted the Young Eagles Program on a local TV morning show, and had different TV stations come to our airport on days when we took groups of kids flying. Local newspapers published several articles over the years about our Young Eagles flights, as I have put a lot of effort into promoting this wonderful program. We've sponsored kids for the EAA Air Academy with our Young Eagles credits.
Some of the kids the two of us have taken flying are now airplane mechanics, pilots, and CFI's. One of those pilots is now a missionary pilot, and his mother recently thanked me again for taking him for his first flight. Mostly all of these pilots and mechanics were in the Young Eagles program. I have a filing cabinet drawer full of touching, and often humorous thank-you notes from kids we've taken flying. One touching story stands out that I posted on one of the many aviation forums where I've shared Young Eagles flights:
"Dad, it was the best 15 minutes of my life." This is what one of the kids told his dad when he got home from his Young Eagles flight the other day. He has had his share of problems. He lost his lower leg in a accident when he was about 8 years old...he is 13 now. His prosthesis bothers him sometimes. Getting in the airplane took a little extra maneuvering, but he managed just fine. I let this young man fly the airplane and he absolutely loved it. I still have a picture of his grin.
I've promoted the Young Eagles program on aviation forums for years, and encouraged other pilots to take kids flying through the program.
HOWEVER, after what has happened with the recent changes in the Young Eagles policy, and the very, VERY disappointing way in which it has been presented to us, including the fact that our legitimate concerns about these new changes have not been officially addressed YET by EAA, we are DONE with the Young Eagles program. Our consternation about these new changes has been adequately expressed by many other pilots (especially Tom Bush...thank you, Tom) here in this thread.
I "submitted" to the background check as soon as I got the letter, but also had concerns at the time about giving my SSN. Now I'm sorry I willingly gave my SSN away, and will know who to blame if there are any adverse effects from doing so.
My husband and I will continue to take kids flying, and share the joy and wonder that aviation entails, just NOT through the EAA Young Eagles program. We are also mindful of the safety of kids and the need to protect them from harm. We don't believe in this overkill recently presented in the new policy changes. It's not necessary for us, or even practical.
Years ago I made a video about kids and flying, so I'll post it here, again. Several disclaimers: No kids were harmed in making this video of photo clips. Many of the kids are family members and kids of our friends. The young kids (niece and nephew) in parachutes didn't actually yet get aerobatic rides (they did when they were older)....that was a photo shoot for one of the articles I had published in the EAA Sport Aerobatics magazine.
https://vimeo.com/119147338
My niece wrote me the following poem when she was ten years old:
Flying Spirit
I have a flying spirit,
I find it in my plane,
It keeps me calm and safe,
It holds me dearly in the air,
It will not let rain stop me,
It floats above the clouds,
Free to roam about.
I have a flying spirit,
I find it in my plane,
I have a flying spirit,
That spirit lives in me,
The lifting, flying spirit saves me.
When I asked her where she got the flying spirit, she told me she got it from watching me fly.
I'm very disappointed in how EAA has handled this and won't participate in the Young Eagles program in the future. But, like many others here have also stated, I'll keep taking kids flying, and will keep sharing the flying spirit.
Tom- there are many extraordinary employees at EAA, and for those, we the membership are eternally grateful. But there are also employees who put their continued employment at EAA, and the survival of EAA above the desires of membership.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Charpentier
I have seen this before in CorporateAmerica, and it accelerates when the Corporation's attorneys lose touch with the Corporation's clients.
I wonder how many of EAA's in house and retained Counsel are grass root aviators who have flown YEs lately?
ted
Quote:
Originally Posted by cub builder
I must agree, Cub Builder's post really hit a nerve for me. Although being a pilot is not a prerequisite for the job, through working at EAA a passion for general aviation, and all of its entities, has been ignited within all of us. As Tom stated, I am now a student pilot and having the time of my life, all thanks EAA hiring me without any prior experience in aviation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Charpentier
Now, back to moderating: Stay on topic within a thread. If you move on to a new topic, start a new thread. :)
I think it is pretty clear, and the Young Eagle program is just an example of it, that the EAA does not represent what it used to represent. It no longer is about pilots, not about experimental aircraft, but an airshow every year. I'll be honest, I wish I didn't have to be a member. However, I am in the IAC and that makes me be a member. I honestly see zero benefit in being an EAA member. I'd rather just send some extra money to the AOPA.
Actually, these procedures have been in place since shortly after 9/11. All non-US citizens (including US permanent residents) are required to submit to fingerprinting and a background check by the Department of Homeland Security before being allowed to start flight training. This applies to any training for a certificate, so you have to do it for private, instrument, commercial, etc, regardless of how many other certificates you have. Clearly part of knee-jerk 9/11 security theater, and a big contributor to why I never finished getting my private after 9/11.Quote:
Originally Posted by WLIU
https://www.flightschoolcandidates.g...e=c§ion=WN