January 20, 2004 - One hundred years and one month after the Wright brothers' first powered flight, another aviation milestone was completed with the ceremonial flight of EAA's 1 millionth Young Eagle Andrew Grant by aviation legend General Chuck Yeager. Originally scheduled to occur as a part of the centennial celebration on December 17 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the flight instead took place on Saturday, January 17, at the Nevada County Airport (017), Grass Valley, California. December's flight was postponed by bad weather. But Richard Beattie, Vice President of Jaguar North America the primary Young Eagles sponsor, suggested rescheduling the flight for a later date in California near Gen. Yeager's home. After reviewing schedules, January 17 was selected as a target date for the flight - coincidentally, exactly one month after the 100th anniversary celebration.
Andrew, his mom and dad, Tom and Becky, and little brother, Cody, joined Gen. Yeager and his wife, Victoria, at the airport on Saturday morning. Several EAA Chapter 1175 members warmly welcomed them, along with members of the local media
The airport experiences only three or four days of fog each year, according to the local EAAers. As luck would have it, the morning of January 17, 2004, was one of them. Fortunately, conditions improved shortly after 11 a.m., allowing Beattie and his son, Thomas, to arrive from their home near Irvine, California, in his Jaguar edition Beech A-36. Shortly after his arrival, Gen. Yeager and Andrew took off in a bright yellow taildragger. Initial plans called for several flights for Andrew and his family throughout the day, but fog rolled back in shortly after the initial flight, cutting short any further flight activities.
Both Andrew and Gen. Yeager, however, enjoyed the opportunity to complete the flight in the scenic area between Sacramento and Tahoe.
It was a great flight," Andrew said. "The whole experience has been incredible, from Kitty Hawk last month to coming out here to fly with Gen. Yeager."
"I'm happy to be able to finally take Andrew for a flight," Gen. Yeager commented as the weather cleared. "While our flight commemorates the 1 millionth Young Eagle to be flown, it would not have been possible without the hundreds of thousands of flights that came before and the dedication of EAA members, pilots, and ground crews, who made it possible to reach our goal through their support of the program." Gen. Yeager has served as chairman of EAA’s Young Eagles since 1994.
With Andrew's ceremonial flight, the first phase of the Young Eagles program, with its monumental goal of flying 1 million Young Eagles, has been completed. As the program continues, the focus will be to continue providing flights for interested young people ages 8-17 and providing an introduction to the world of aviation. EAA Young Eagles also strives to nurture continuing interest in aviation through additional opportunities.
The Young Eagles program is the largest youth aviation initiative ever created and is successful because of the efforts of more than 85,000 EAA members and supporters.
Congratulations to everyone involved in the Young Eagles program. We look forward to the next step with great enthusiasm!
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Andrew is interviewed by a crew from KOVR TV-13 in Sacramento.
A historic moment in EAA history: Gen. Chuck Yeager and Young Eagle number 1 million, Andrew Grant, take off on their ceremonial flight.
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