by Michael Pavon, EAA 1299773
I WANTED TO SHARE my experience at AirVenture with you and your magazine. My name is Michael, and I’m a 17-year-old from Dallas, Texas. I’m at the time of my life where I have to make a lot of decisions about my future.
While I’ve always had an interest in aviation, over the last few years I’ve become more passionate about it. I’ve started to learn more about the topic and joined my local EAA Chapter 983 in Granbury, Texas, so that I can gain more experience with aircraft. Thanks to them, I have gone on flights on three small aircraft and a helicopter, and learned more about aviation than I have in the last few years before joining EAA.
Chapter 983 recently granted me a scholarship to attend the EAA Air Academy during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2019. During this experience, I spent a week learning new skills and information pertaining to aviation. I also learned I had a talent for metalworking after finishing my metal project – making a spark plug tray – first when the instructors expected me to finish last after I was the last to begin. Outside of the classes and workshops, I got to attend AirVenture during its first few days. I got to see a few of my favorite airplanes like the F-22, F-35. B-17, B-29, and several P-51s. I also had the opportunity to meet a man from the Air Force and a former Navy pilot. After talking to the two of them, and hearing stories from the pilot, I knew for certain that I wanted to follow a similar path.
Attending AirVenture has helped me feel confident in the path I’d like to take as I graduate from high school. I plan to apply to universities with flight programs and also have started researching more about Air Force careers.
