“The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) helped launch my career in aerospace. I took my first flight in a Beech Baron at the age of 14 with a family friend who was a member of the EAA. After that introductory flight, I knew my future would always involve aviation. I immediately wanted to become a pilot and started taking flying lessons. A few years later, that same family friend brought me to the annual EAA fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin for my first time at age 17. I was inspired by the creativity I saw and developed a passion for technical innovation and experimental aircraft.

The EAA foundation is in homebuilding aircraft, designing and testing. The EAA today goes beyond this, growing participation in aviation and serving a diverse set of aviation community needs. It inspires, educates and connects people so they can turn ideas into reality – just like my aviation mentor did for me, and just like what we do at Scaled Composites. We turn ideas into reality. We make that idea of what might be possible tomorrow a reality today using out-of-the-box thinking and hands-on problem solving. Seeing ideas turn into reality at both Scaled and the EAA keeps me excited for the future; it keeps me excited about technical innovation and experimental aircraft we have yet to see.” – Ben Diachun, Scaled Composites President

Click here to read the announcement from EAA.