Harrison Ford has personally flown more than 300 young people on their first airplane ride. The Experimental Aircraft Association, which runs the Young Eagles program, reported that figure in 2016, and the program he helped lead still gives kids that same free flight today.

One Pilot, One Kid, No Charge

Young Eagles began in 1992 with a simple idea from the EAA: one pilot flying one young person, free of charge, to introduce them to flight.

Any kid aged 8 to 17 can take part. The flights are made possible by volunteer pilots, and the ride costs the family nothing.

Pressed Into Service

Ford learned about Young Eagles in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has flown his de Havilland Beaver to small airports. Friends who had flown with the program for years pressed him into service.

When the EAA asked him to become chairman, he hesitated, though not because of the program. He told Airport Journals the job was "no different than what I'd been doing," only now he held the title on paper.

He officially took the role in March 2004, and by then he had already piloted flights for more than 80 Young Eagles. He chaired the program until 2009.

43 Kids in One Beaver

Ford is involved with an EAA chapter in Driggs, Idaho. He described one of its Young Eagles Days to Airport Journals: "We flew 290 kids. I had the pleasure of giving rides to 43 kids in my de Havilland Beaver."

"No pleasure in the world compares to seeing the excitement in a kid's eyes when he or she gets that first taste of general aviation," he said.

Young Eagle Number 2,000,000

The program passed its first million flights in December 2003. It took 13 more years to reach the second million.

In July 2016 at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Ford flew Jodie Gawthrop, 16, as the 2,000,000th Young Eagle. The EAA's 2016 announcement put his own total at more than 300 young people flown. Gawthrop later told the EAA he was "the most down-to-earth person."

Still Taking Kids Up

More than 50,000 pilots had flown at least one Young Eagle by the program's 25th anniversary, and another 50,000 people had helped on the ground.

The EAA's live counter read 2,507,807 Young Eagles flown as of October 9, 2026. Families can find a free flight through the EAA's Young Eagles page.

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