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Web Site Changes  (Note: Refresh your browser to ensure you have the latest information)
 

This is where we'll announce the most recent additions to our web site. If you've visited us before and want to know what's
changed, take a look here first.


 

 

 For FREE Young Eagles flight

Check out the recent Media Coverage of EAA Chapter 908

  • 01/16/2012 - January "HYLITES" is on the news stand check it out

  • 12/26/2011 - Here's your opportunity to get into that four place home built project!

  • 12/26/2011 - Isn't it time you started to read the FAA Safety briefings?

  • 12/19/2011 - DECEMBER "HYLITES" IS READY FOR READING

  • 12/07/2011 - Lee Romans project ERCOUPE for sale, take a look.

  • 11/17/2011 - November "HYLITES" is here.

  • 10/27/2011 - REVISED SECURITY & DRIVERS TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE, LOOK

  • 10/24/2011 - October "HYLITES" posted HERE.

  • 09/19/2011 - Chapters 99 and 908 join to fly Young Eagles in Vero Beach take a look at some of the pictures

  • 08/19/2011 - If you did not attend a meeting you can catch up by reading the minutes in the "Members Area"

  • 08/04/2011 - Check out new pictures here.

  • 06/16/2011 - Any one need a pair of Wheel Pants for your home built? Take a look.

  • 06/12/2011 - Our Newsletter editor Richard Chapman and Vietnam?

  • 05/17/2011 - Two new TSA documents here.

  • 04/18/2011 - New item listed.. Best offer, check it out.

  • 03/08/2011 - New section on the site, PHOTOS take a look, register and start uploading your pictures.

  • 12/19/2010 - In the Members area the hangar/container/tiedowns rules contracts and waiting lists have been updated.,

  • 12/19/2010 - The "Tech Advisors" page is back on the site.

  • 12/02/2010 - Airport  2011 Safety Classes schedules

  • 10/26/2010 - Updated waiting lists and rules for the lists in Members area.

  • 10/21/2010 - New and latest information on new airplane in 908 Flying Club

  • 05/03/2010 - For all you Poker Players, check it out or is it "Fly Out"

  • 04/13/2010 - Listen to "Sun n Fun" tower on "LiveATC.net"

  • 02/22/2010 - Congratulations'  to Clem a pass member but not forgotten!

  • 02/22/2010 - Flying the islands of the Bahamas?

  • 02/18/2010 - Here's something you LSA'rs and Home builders might be interested in.

  • 02/18/2010 - Check out KFPR Tower audio on "LiveATC.net"

  • 12/01/2009 - Donato & Don have done it again... check it out

  • 12/01/2009 - 2010 Schedule for Security and Drivers classes, take a look.

  • 11/26/2009 - Check out the Hi-Rez photo of KFPR  "FOCAL-PLANE"         photo     (Caution, large file)

  • 10/04/2009 - For those who didn't go to the New Runway celebrations, check the low approaches.

  • You will need a USER NAME and PASSWORD to access the Phone List..

  • 10/13/2008 - Time to read up again?
  • 09/18/2008 - With rumors of the hangar project coming alive again how about reviewing this document
  • 09/13/2008 - For you kids out of the Fifties, remember "Sky King" ? Thanks to Donato Check out this site. 
  • 06/21/2008 - Check out the latest Story and Video on the Young Eagle event.
  • A reminder/refresher on airport security and watch. Click to watch video
  •  - BBQ Check it out
  •  - A reminder about Tax deductions related to flying Young Eagles
  •  - New area! Young Eagles volunteers instructions Check it out
  • - Repeat announcement in case you missed it. "Some Really good late night reading"  Read It
  •  - A few post card pictures from "Sun n Fun"  Like the P-40 to the right , Take a look
  • - Airport and Homeland Security advisory from FPR website  LOOK
  •  - The "Airport hangar development guide" a pdf file from AOPA a must read if your
    planning a hangar project. READ

 

Press Releases

These are the press releases we've issued over the last year.

Children learn to fly 'like an angel'  Check out the video Here


By Larry Bailey
Sunday, June 15, 2008

 

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Becoming the next Amelia Earhart or Charles Lindbergh does not come easy, but taking free aviation lessons at St. Lucie County International Airport is a good start.

The Experimental Aircraft Association's Young Eagles program held its annual free airplane rides event for youngsters across the region on Saturday. For many, ranging in ages 8-17, the airport experience marks their first step toward aerospace education.

According to Young Eagles Coordinator Kevin Griffin, the Experimental Aircraft Association has flown more than 1.3 million children since the program's start in 1992.

"It's an excellent basic instruction program that opens the exciting world of flying to our children," said Martin Marugg, an educator with the Civil Air Patrol.

During the program, children were instructed using model airplanes and then moved on to operate a flight simulator. They also took a 20-minute flight at 2,000 feet and a speed of about 120 miles per hour over Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie and the Indian River Lagoon.

Lisa Stott of Port St. Lucie said she was surprised how easily her 11-year-old daughter, Alex, learned the functions of the control yoke and the rudder pedals.

"I love the feeling I get when the plane tilts in motion," Alex said after her first flight in a single-engine plane.

Major David Littlefield of the Civil Air Patrol introduced the use of controls, instruments, radios, and switches to the kids participating in the event.

"For the kids, a day like this is an absolute hoot," he said. "Here they get a hands-on look at three types of planes — the Grumman, the Cessna, and the Piper."

Learning continued for the flying aces right up to the time they boarded the plane. Before takeoff, 24-year veteran pilot Mike Ketchpaw of Vero Beach explained tower and taxi instructions. Knowing the kids were eager to leave the ground, he briefly touched on the weather, the wind factor, and runway use as they climbed into the cockpit.

"The smile on the kid's faces when they touch down is payday for me," said Ketchpaw.

Robin Moorman of Fort Pierce, a pilot with the program since its inception, believes the program is a success because every year more children attend than the year before.

"Kids gain an appreciation for aviation that lasts a lifetime," said Moorman.

Nine-year-old Andrea Clark and her 10-year-old brother, Aaron, of Port St. Lucie, said it was "funny" to fly and look out over little doll-like houses.

"I felt like an angel," Andrea said, "and my brother learned that the plane he flew in holds four gallons of gas, which lasts four hours."

 

 

Past Media Coverage of EAA Chapter 908

By Rita Hart Staff writer  Hometown News
 

 

The winds were gusting on Saturday Nov. 4, grounding the planes, but not the enthusiasm of those attending Aviation Day at the St. Lucie County International Airport in Fort Pierce.

The young people who were invited to attend the free event and experience a free Young Eagles flight still had the opportunity to see and learn much about aviation.

Representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Florida Institute of Technology and the U.S. Customs Office were just a few present inside the airport to provide information and answer questions of young men and women interested in aviation.

Out on the flight line, visitors could inspect the new $700,000 fire truck, a state-of-the-art vehicle equipped to fight airport and airplane fires.

Rich Himmel, president of Jet Service Center, was present to give visitors a tour of his company's richly appointed planes, including a Gulfstream 2B. A fixed-base operation with two 20,000 square-foot hangars located at the St. Lucie County International Airport, Jet Service Center refurbishes, fuels, maintains and charters planes.

Their spacious airplanes, equipped with leather seats and flat-screen TVs, transport celebrities, including Nascar drivers, corporate executives and others.

"We are so busy, these planes are almost never on the ground," said Mr. Himmel.

Visitors were also encouraged to sit in the cockpit of a DC-3 built in 1944 and flown during World War II. The plane, equipped with a Wright radial engine, is now owned by Missionary Flights International, and transports passengers and cargo to missions in the West Indies.

Cadets with the Treasure Coast Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol also attended Aviation Day. Their squadron commander, Maj. Richard Chapman, said that with the Civil Air Patrol, the cadets gain experience in flight-line management, and exposure to a variety of aircraft and other aviation organizations.

"The cadets learn all about emergency service, search and rescue operations, disaster relief and radio communications," Maj. Chapman said.

Often, the cadets' interest in aviation doesn't end when they leave the Civil Air Patrol.

"Ten percent of each year's class at the U.S. Air Force Academy is made up of Civil Air Patrol cadets," said Maj. Chapman.

Some of the cadets at Aviation Day, who were on the flight-line in their uniforms, knew the benefits of being a Civil Air Patrol member, should they decide to enter the service. Cadet Chris Hughes explained that by reaching the Master Sgt. level with the Civil Air Patrol, a member could enter the Air Force at a rank that is two grades higher than normal entry level.

The Experimental Aircraft Association, an international organization, sponsors the Young Eagles program. The association's members, as volunteers, make the Young Eagles program possible by offering flights, free of charge, to those between the ages of 8 through 17.

The flights offer young people the chance to see a pilot in action, even during pre-flight inspections.

During and after the flights, which normally last 15 to 20 minutes, the pilots allow the young men and women the opportunity to ask questions about the flight and the pilots' own experiences in flying aircraft.

Tom Shedd, coordinator of the local chapter of the Young Eagles, said 153 young people had pre-registered for flights for the Nov. 4 Aviation Day.

However, the high winds made those flights too risky.

Mr. Shedd said the flights will be rescheduled for a later date.

For more information on the Young Eagles, visit www.youngeagles.org or www.eaa908.org, or call Tom Shedd at (772) 564-0201.


 

Anthony Westbury: Young Eagles soar

Anthony Westbury
email | bio

October 31, 2006
SCRIPPS Treasure Coast News Papers

If they'd had the Young Eagles program when I was a kid, they couldn't have stopped me from signing up.
Now, they pay me to.

Since 1994, Chapter 908 of the Experimental Aircraft Association in Fort Pierce has introduced more than 1,100 kids to the joys of flying. Those kids don't have to imagine what it's like to soar like eagles, they've done it, and many keep coming back for more.

Chapter 908 volunteers will be at it again from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday at the St. Lucie International Airport, offering free 15- minute flights to children ages eight to 17.

So, in all good conscience, how could I write about this program without at least taking a quick flight to make sure these guys are on the up and up?

I'm happy to report they really are. And the world looks incredible from 1,500 feet up on a crisp, blue morning after a cool front blew through the night before.

My pilot was Port St. Lucie building contractor and amateur pilot Jim Wetzel. He removed his trademark white cowboy hat and carefully stowed it in the rear of the plane, a Beechcraft Bonanza, before we took off.

The Bonanza rumbled down Runway 27, the wide dotted white lines flicking by beneath our aluminum belly faster and faster. Without drama, the small plane climbed easily into the blue and Wetzel made a gentle right turn toward the beach.

Cruising at about 115 knots, we swung out over the Intracoastal, climbed over South Beach and were above the nuclear power plant in no time at all. Then we turned west and explored sun-dappled Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie West and Tradition until it was time to head back north to Fort Pierce.

Wetzel has been flying for more than 20 years for business and pleasure, and he's also taken up more than 100 Young Eagles passengers in the last few years. His will be one of eight planes taking part in Saturday's event.

Altogether, the event requires around 30 EAA volunteers, most as ground and coordination crew, organizer Tom Shedd told me once I had my feet back on the ground again.

The point of the Young Eagles program, Shedd explained, is to expose youngsters to an aviation experience, not just offer them a plane ride. Participants receive pre-flight briefings about safety, familiarization with the plane, air traffic control and the layout of the airport runways before they're buckled up for the ride.

Shedd hopes up to 130 children will be able to experience the thrill of flying on Saturday, weather and airport traffic permitting.

"I've never had an unruly kid," he said, noting that at least one or two have gone on to begin careers in commercial aviation.

Children wanting to fly on Saturday must have a signed parental permission form and should call Shedd to reserve a flight time, though they usually can accommodate walk-ins, he said.

My all-too-brief trip into the blue skies made me feel just like an airplane-crazy kid all over again.

And, boy, did it feel great — especially getting paid for it.

Associate Editor Anthony Westbury may be reached at (772) 409-1320, or at anthony.westbury@scripps.com. Catch his take on local news Mondays at 9 a.m. on WIRA 1400 AM.

 

Free flights available for kids at St. Lucie airport

By staff report
November 1, 2006

As part of St. Lucie County Aviation Day, Chapter 908 of the Experimental Aircraft Association will offer free airplane flights from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the St. Lucie International Airport.

Children aged 8 to 17 will be eligible to take advantage of the free flights offered through the chapter's Young Eagles program. Since 1994, Chapter 908 has successfully flown more than 1,100 children for free.
Written permission from parents is required before any child will be allowed to ride. Parents should call Tom Shedd at (772) 564-0201 to reserve a flight time. For more general information about the Young Eagles program, go to www.youngeagles.org.

 

  • October 15, 2005
    SCRIPPS Treasure Coast News Papers

    Youths can receive free airplane rides

    FORT PIERCE — The local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association will give free airplane rides to children 8 to 17 at a Young Eagle Flight Rally from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the St. Lucie County International Airport.

    Since the program was launched nationally in 1992, the association has flown more than 1.2 million young people. Chapter 908 pilots have given free flights to more than 1,000 Treasure Coast kids.

    Before each flight, kids are given briefings on safety, the airport and traffic control and the airplane. More information is given during the flight, After landing, each new Young Eagle receives a certificate signed by the pilot and actor Harrison Ford, a pilot and national chairman of the Young Eagles program.

    Parental permission and reservations are required. For information, call Eddy Kemper at (772) 336-0950 or Tom Shedd at (772) 564-0201.


     

    February 12, 2006
    SCRIPPS Treasure Coast News Papers
    Young Eagles to sponsor flights in St. Lucie

    By staff report 

    Young Eagles will sponsor flights at the St. Lucie County International Airport from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 25.

    Young Eagles is a program of the nonprofit EAA Aviation Foundation. Volunteer pilots take youngsters ages 8-17 on a free flight.

    Parental permission is required. To reserve a check-in time, call Eddy Kemper at (772) 336-0950. For more information, visit www.youngeagles.org.