Flying Young Eagles

The EAA Young Eagles program introduces youth to aviation by offering free first-flight opportunities. Volunteer pilots at Gnoss Field donate their time and airplanes to provide this experience for youth between the ages of 8 to 17. The Young Eagles program that has flown over 2.5 million young people as of November 2024.

These programs are scheduled on occasional Saturdays between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm at Gnoss Field. Parents are required to pre-register their Young Eagles using THIS online portal.

Information for Pilots

We’ll have a short briefing on the ramp on Saturday morning starting at 9:30 so we can begin flying right at 10:00. Pilots: please have your plane pre-flighted, headsets and cushions ready, and parked as per the diagram below by 9:15.

The registered youth are spaced out fairly equally with start times at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon.

Here are just some of the details we’ll review at the briefing so you can get familiar or refresh your memory of how the day will go, starting with a diagram of the setup

Diagram of a Young Eagles event at Gnoss Field

Young Eagles layout for typical operation, with general attendee area with parking and gate access, information/registration table, and airplanes on the ramp along the taxi lane,

Although you can’t really tell from this image, the line on which we park airplanes is just off the actual centerline of that taxi lane (between the rows of hangars, which will allow you easier movement when taxiing in and out of the loading area. Note that we want pilots to park their planes at an angle to facilitate this even more. We will have marshals to direct you in and out of the area, and let you know when it’s clear for you to start up and taxi. 

NO HOT LOADING! Engines must be shut down prior to loading or unloading Young Eagles!

We’ll have a bunch of Young Eagles planes along with the normal traffic going in and out of the airport area, so be vigilant and communicate. We’ll be flying repeated trips over our neighbors in Novato and northern San Rafael, so be as kind as possible with lower RPMs, varying your actual track over the ground somewhat, and observing the suggested altitudes.

Pilot & Ground Volunteer Safety Briefing

Pick up your Young Eagle(s) from Administrative Desk, sign their registration/release forms on the pilots’ signature line, leaving those on a clipboard at the desk. Walk the Young Eagles to your plane, and provide them with your safety briefing, including use of the seat belt, “Sterile Cockpit Rule” when approaching airport & downwind to base leg, door operation, and any other safety features of the aircraft.

  • Don’t do a preflight inspection with your Young Eagles. We always have a lot of Young Eagles flying at each event so being prompt will help get everyone in the air.
  • Take a good look around your plane and do not forget to call “CLEAR PROP” before you start your engines.
  • Look for an Aircraft Marshal prior to moving, then signal you are ready to move by turning on your landing light. Aircraft Marshal will clear taxi area and signal you to move forward and turn to taxiway.
  • When returning from your flight, look for an Aircraft Marshal who will stand where they want you with both hands raised. Normally you will position yourself on the marshal. In the event the marshal needs to actually direct you, the marshal will use the standard hand signals.
  • When you return and shut down, Young Eagles ground volunteers will escort adults out to the aircraft for a photo opportunity with the Young Eagles at your aircraft
  • Photo opportunity done, take your Young Eagle to Administrative Desk and sign their EAA logbook. This is a great time to engage the Young Eagles and their parents, and ascertain whether the Young Eagles has an interest in learning more. Using the logbook, point out the benefits they now have paying particular attention to the free Sporty’s online ground school course (for kids old enough)
  • Pick up your next Young Eagle(s) at the administrative desk
  • Please watch the Aircraft Marshal, as we may have to park you differently than you thought because of ground handling reasons. Manual ground handling might be necessary after you stop your engine, USE CAUTION.

Suggested Gnoss Field Flight Routes for Young Eagles Events

We have experimented and found the following information helpful to coordinate multiple aircraft flying for a Young Eagles event. Due to nearby terrain, overflying neighbors homes, and congestion upon returning to Gnoss Field, we created some operational guidelines.

These procedures separate traffic by speed and altitude, resulting in a 20-30 minute flight with your Young Eagles. Since we do not have a control tower to help coordinate operations, please do your best to follow these guidelines.

The simplest way to describe the route is Gnoss Field to Sears Point Raceway, south to Hamilton, northwest to Stafford Lake (faster planes on the south side of the ridge, others on the north side), northeast to San Antonio Creek/Bridge over 101 at the Marin/Sonoma border, then back to the pattern. If you fly outside these points your Young Eagles will have a better view of Novato.

Routes & Altitudes for Young Eagle Flights

Two routes for Young Eagles flights, one lower and slower at 2500’ MSL flown at 90 knots, (magenta), one higher and slower at 3500’ MSL flown at 100+ knots (cyan). Each route will take about 20-30 minutes at those speeds. Note green pins are recommended reporting points.

With a large contingent of Young Eagles, please fly these routes depending on your airspeed: slower planes at 2500 feet at 90 knots inside the ridgeline along Ignacio Boulevard, faster planes at 3500 feet at 100 knots over Marinwood and Lucas Valley. These altitudes will reduce the noise impact as we fly over residential areas of Novato and Bel Marin Keys. Both routes are clockwise to favor the view of Young Eagles in the right seats.

If you wish you can import the information into ForeFlight and use an iPad or iPhone to navigate the proposed procedures. We have created User Waypoints for ForeFlight and two flight plan routes: the shorter route at 2500 feet in magenta and a longer route at 3500 feet in cyan: The waypoints are intended as “fly by” and not “fly over” points. Feel free to use your autopilot HDG and ALT modes to maintain level flight while maneuvering along the flight path.

Here are the steps needed to create these Young Eagle routes. You can use the KML file to upload the YE waypoints and the two web links to create the flight plans in Foreflight. (Note: these instructions work easiest with iPhones and iPads. For other combinations, please contact Rick Beach.)

  1. Download this file containing the waypoints for Young Eagles flights: KDVO Young Eagles Waypoints.kml
  2. Then drag that KML file from your computer’s Finder into the AirDrop folder, and drop it onto the device that you use for ForeFlight. AirDrop will popup on the receiving device and request a choice of app to open with. Tap ForeFlight, then click on Custom Content, then User Waypoints. ForeFlight will confirm that you imported 13 user waypoints.
  3. For additional ways to import the Young Eagles waypoints, see this support page for Foreflight “How do I add User Waypoints in bulk?”
  4. To enter the 2500-foot flight plan, click on this link:  https://plan.foreflight.com/share/accept/01b8f793IZ8KAPxeBX
  5. To enter the 3500-foot flight plan, click on this link:  https://plan.foreflight.com/share/accept/01b8f71vapFMbnCIMt

FYI, in ForeFlight, if you do some other flight planning, you can get back to these flight plans with the “Routes” icon that lists your recent routes.

If you encounter difficulties with the waypoints contact Rick.beach@amazingpossibilities.org for Beach Foreflight Tech Support! 😉

Radio Calls for Young Eagle Flights

Because we have several Young Eagle flights in operation during an event, standardizing our radio calls helps ensure that each pilot can develop their situational awareness of who is close by.

All call signs will be “Young Eagles <aircraft-type> <tail-number>” so everyone knows who we are. For example, “Young Eagles Cherokee N3649R.” Also, we suggest these minimal reporting points to help improve situational awareness:

            YE-HAMILTON (2500 ft route)
            or YE-MARINWOOD (3500 ft route);
            YE-SANANTONIOCREEK
            YE-ENTER45 (standard entry to traffic pattern).

At each waypoint, we suggest radio calls like this:

            “Young Eagles <aircraft-type> <tail-number> at Hamilton 2 thousand 5 hundred”

At the waypoint, YE-SANANTONIOCREEK, you will be 3 nm from Gnoss Field. Please enter the 45 then downwind for the appropriate runway based on winds and skydiving operations (if any).

Have a great flight!