Hondo, Texas
January 15, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

To All Friends of the EAA Southwest Regional Fly-In known as The EAA Texas Fly-In:  We need Young Eagle Helpers March 17, 2007 at Hondo, Texas!

The Southwest Regional Fly-In and EAA Chapter 35 have teamed up to provide a comprehensive Boy Scout Aviation Merit Badge Program and a Young Eagles experience to approximately 600 youngsters on March 17, 2007. This would qualify as one of the largest Young Eagles events on record, and because our past two years have averaged 500 YE flights we fully expect to reach our goal.

While the Boy Scouts will experience a three-day encampment at the Hondo, Texas (HDO) airport, we will be conducting Young Eagle flights only on Saturday, March 17, starting at 9:00 AM.

The extensive classroom and flight-line sessions will qualify these young men for the coveted Aviation Merit Badge, but the grand finale is truly the Young Eagle Flight.

We earnestly solicit your support as a pilot, ground crew helper or as an administrative worker. As a minimum, we would like to have 25 airplanes on the ramp, 25 ground crew workers, and two administrative teams along with their own computers and printers in order to conduct this event swiftly and safely.

We may be able to secure some local EAA host families who could provide housing for those EAA'ers who arrive on Friday, March 16.

If you would like to be a part of the biggest Young Eagle rally on record, please contact Brad Doppelt, YE Coordinator, as soon as possible. Brad can be e-mailed at brad_doppelt@yahoo.com or reached by cell phone 210.380.2025, home 210.538.5046.

We assure you that this is a well-organized event, and is backed by the Experimental Aircraft Association, the City of Hondo, and a great cadre of EAA volunteers!