EAA’s 2 millionth Young Eagle, plus three others in the count around the milestone, received their memorable airplane rides at Oshkosh Thursday with prominent EAA pilots. Actor Harrison Ford, a former Young Eagles chairman, flew Jodie Gawthrop, 16, of Illinois in his de Havilland Beaver. She described the flight in an EAA interview as “amazing.” The high school junior, an aspiring career pilot, won the ride along with a $7,500 flight training scholarship. “You see aircraft after aircraft going by on the ground, but it’s not until you’re up there that you realize how big this event really is,” she said.
Three other Young Eagles joined Gawthrop in a 15-minute airborne procession over the field above the crowds attending this week’s AirVenture show. Airline pilot and former Young Eagles co-chairman Jeff Skiles flew the 1,999,998th ride for Braeden Edbert, 10, of Wisconsin. Airshow pilot Sean D. Tucker, the current chairman, took Oshkosh resident Owen Wrolstad, 13, for the 1,999,999th flight. Ride no. 2,000,001 went to 11-year-old Annalee Wrolstad of Oshkosh with EAA volunteer Fred Stadler, who has flown the highest number of Young Eagles at 6,500.
