EAA Chapter 272
YOUNG EAGLES

EAA272 IS THE WINNER OF THE 2004 YOUNG EAGLES HORIZON AWARD
recognizing the chapter as one of the major contributors to youth in aviation

Dreams…The catalyst for achievement
By Eugene Cernan

As a young boy growing up in Chicago during the 1940s, I can vividly remember watching the black-and-white Movietone news reels of World War II footage. I can even remember watching footage of military aviation legends such as Joe Foss, Bob Hoover, and “Tex” Hill.

It was during this period in my life that the seed of a dream was planted within me to someday experience the thrill of landing aboard an aircraft carrier. Little did I know that this dream would one day inspire me to not only accomplish this feat, but would challenge me to go where few men had gone before.

Being well known as “the last man on the moon,” people are often surprised when I tell them that I don’t believe the Wright brothers’ most important legacy is space flight, commercial aviation, or technological advancement. Rather, the lasting contribution made to mankind on that historic day in December 1903 is one of inspiration, motivation, and the excitement found within all of us who follow in the footsteps of Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Since that first flight at Kitty Hawk, aviation has had a romantic hold over our collective imagination. It’s this incredible passion stemming from the Wright brothers’ accomplishment which has been passed on from one generation of dreamers to the next. Yet, unlike so many other things in life which bloom and then fade away, aviation hasn’t come and gone—it has only grown.

This seemingly endless source of inspiration creates a profound affect on each of us, regardless of age. But the dream of flight is most potent in the minds of the young, which is precisely why EAA’s youth education programs are so indispensable. They’re the hook for kids which makes learning fun. And if you can make learning fun, you can teach a child anything. This sense of enjoyment becomes a natural catalyst for young people to want to learn more. The more they learn, the more they want to learn.

Take the EAA Young Eagles program, for instance. It’s not just a free flight experience. Kids want to learn more and do more because of it. What follows is the acquisition of knowledge, discipline, and good judgment. Characteristics that are key to them becoming productive, responsible adults. Don’t we all have a responsibility to provide these tools to kids in order to help them accomplish the things they didn’t think they were capable of?

Growing up, my dad used to tell me “Always do your best.” This is a message I also passed on to my own children, and now my grandchildren. When I hear one of them doubting their potential, my response is the same: “You tell me what you cannot do if you want it badly enough. If I can walk on the moon, you can do anything.”

That sense of endless possibility is one of the reasons the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show exists. It features pilots who push the limits of what we think is possible. How often have you seen parents and their children watch in awe as airplanes perform the impossible? But it’s what EAA does the other 51 weeks of the year through programs like Young Eagles, Air Academy, and AeroScholars that’s truly significant. EAA has become the foundation of aviation inspiration. The organization encourages young people to reach for their dreams while instilling the work ethic to achieve them. I’ve always challenged young people to dream the impossible, then go out and make it happen.

Even if we influence just a few kids through aviation, I consider that a worthwhile effort. Passing along the spirit of the Wright brothers to our youth ensures that succeeding generations will continue to dream great things and achieve greater ones. If I’ve learned one lesson during my 72 years on this planet (well, mostly on this planet), it’s that we must always shoot for the moon, because even if we miss, we’ll still land somewhere among the stars.

 

CHAPTER 272
TOTAL TO DATE
5,727