Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 339

04/24/2026

Hope its as good as Top Gun Maverick

Top Gun 3 is in the works, with Tom Cruise reportedly set to earn up to $135 million as Maverick returns after the billion-dollar success of "Top Gun: Maverick."

12/19/2025

Another First in Flight, 122 Years Later

122 years ago today, Orville and Wilbur changed the world forever as they succeeded in achieving the first heavier-than-air, powered, controlled flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Their achievement ushered in a new era for humanity where we would be forever interconnected across the planet.

Today we celebrate a new first in-flight moment in the shadows of the Wright brothers’ achievements as the National Park Service and Dare County Schools unveiled the first flyable plane built at Wright Brothers National Memorial since the Wright brothers in 1903. For the past two years, juniors and seniors from neighboring First Flight High School constructed this two-seater plane while learning about aviation, physics, teamwork- with some historical inspiration from the Wright brothers themselves. Join us in congratulating the students on a job well-done and becoming a part of the Wright brother’s legacy.

Learn more about the students’ journey through the Wright Flight Academy video series: go.nps.gov/takeflight

10/31/2025

Exciting news! MAM is adding a new airplane to their collection. Can't wait to see it in person.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1A3PmJBjzH/

We’ve noticed all the excitement swirling around the movements of PV-2 Harpoon “Island Doll” online, and we are pleased to share that its new home will be the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach!

The aircraft’s previous owners, the American Military Heritage Foundation, focusing on the aircraft’s well-being, made a difficult decision to find it a new home. After a selection process that ran throughout 2025, the Military Aviation Museum was selected as the new home for the aircraft. A team of Museum Volunteers and Fighter Factory mechanics have been in Indiana this week looking the airplane over, and loading up the many spare parts that are to travel home to Virginia Beach with it. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!

08/26/2025

We lost Mr Ken Freeman to a thankfully short illness August 25, 2025.

Ken lived his good life until the end and was a social creature and great advocate of the EAA community and of encouraging the next generation of pilots.

Attached is one of my favorite photos of Ken in his RV-7 when he flew from his KSFQ Suffolk VA home base to my KJGG Williamsburg VA home base to install a threaded insert into the floor of my hangar so I can ratchet the tail down to raise the nosewheel of my aircraft. This photo makes me think of Ken as Maverick.

Ken owned a Piper Apache and purchased an RV-7A project which he turned into a flying RV-7 in 2023. It has a modern dual large-screen EFIS intrument panel with autopilot and Ken was successfully climbing that learning curve.

Ken was an A&P and helped with the condition inspection on my purchased RV-14A June 2025.

I don’t know Ken’s entire history but he served in Vietnam where Agent Orange caused detrimental effects to his health which he was not one to complain about. Ken worked as an auto mechanic at a car dealership and later ran his own business in the form of a Snap-On tool truck and somewhere along the line became an A&P. Ken believed in hard work and taking responsibility for one’s own destiny.

Ken will be missed in many ways including his love for his family, his skilled and willing assistance to other aircraft builders, his attendance at EAA 339 Chesapeake VA and EAA 156 Williamsburg VA events, and his support of the Williamsburg Aviation Scholarship Program pancake breakfast, cooking pancakes and arriving early to get the coffee going… that’s him in the yellow EAA 156 shirt cooking pancakes at KJGG Williamsburg VA.

Ken is survived by his wife Kathi and others whom I will list here when I learn of them. Kathi flew with Ken and was often seen at EAA events.

God’s Speed, Ken. And our thoughts are with you, Kathi.

==============

John Bright on behalf of Ken’s EAA community.

08/22/2025

It sounds like Howard's Pub on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina made it through the storm ok. I just wonder if the runway at the airport is still usable. Nothing in the NOTAMS about damage but the runway just have a couple of small dunes between it and the runway. If anyone has been by the airport, give us a status update.

08/09/2025

Here's a fun flashback to when I flew over to Cypress Gardens in the Grumman Duck to watch a hydroplane race. After talking to some of the water skiers, we got a little creative for the ski show, and this shot was taken when I had just begun towing two of them. It was a bit tricky with the Duck as it was too slow for me off the step and too fast for them on the step. By the second pass, one had fallen off, but the second one was barefooting!

08/09/2025

That's the way to waterski.

Here's a fun flashback to when I flew over to Cypress Gardens in the Grumman Duck to watch a hydroplane race. After talking to some of the water skiers, we got a little creative for the ski show, and this shot was taken when I had just begun towing two of them. It was a bit tricky with the Duck as it was too slow for me off the step and too fast for them on the step. By the second pass, one had fallen off, but the second one was barefooting!

08/08/2025

Congratulations!