EAA Chapter 186

09/26/2026

Thirty-one of us are enjoying hearing from our member Joe Fry, recently retired from service in the US Marine Corps — where his last position was flying Marine One, transporting the President and Vice President! Sorry, but you had to be here for his story; we’re not publishing details!

LtCol Joseph A. Fry, USMC (Ret.) was raised in Jacksonville, IL, graduated from The George Washington University in 2005 and earned his commission in the United States Marine Corps. After completing The Basic School and Undergraduate Pilot Training, he became a Naval Aviator and trained in the AH-1W/Z Cobra at Camp Pendleton, CA. He deployed overseas in support of three Marine Expeditionary Units, one Unit Deployment Program, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He is a graduate of the MAWTS-1 Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course and served as a subject matter expert and WTI instructor with the AH-1 division at MAWTS-1 from 2014 to 2017.

He later completed a Master of Military Studies and graduated with distinction from the Command & Staff College at Marine Corps University and served as the Air-to-Ground Weapons Program Lead at Headquarters Marine Corps' Aviation Branch.

In June 2022, he joined Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) in Quantico, VA where he flew the VH-60N White Hawk and VH-3D Sea King in support of presidential travel. He served as a Marine One pilot in command and Operations Officer, responsible for the safe and timely transportation of the President of the United States.

Joe recently retired from the Marine Corps in June, after 21 years of active service. As a member of the EAA community, he enjoys flying his Lancair 320, which he has owned and operated for 12 years, and looks forward to the next chance to visit Oshkosh with his airplane.

08/22/2026

Some 45 of us met this morning for pancakes, sausage, and a talk by member Dan Lawrence on 3D printing aircraft parts!

Dan owns and operates both a Zenair and a Jabiru and is building a Murphy Elite. Aircraft parts can be difficult to obtain and one solution can be owner-produced parts and not just for experimental aircraft but for certified aircraft as well. Dan is discussing resources available, equipment used and the various materials used in the process.

See what fun you’re missing if you’re not coming to our meetings? 😉

07/13/2026

06/27/2026

About 30 of us are getting a really fun briefing on weather and weather information resources from Chapter member Darrel Watson. Education and entertainment all at once!

We do this kind of thing on the fourth Saturday of every month — except in July, our members who go meet at the Tailwinds Cafe at AirVenture in Oshkosh on Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM CDT. Join us wherever!

06/26/2026

Join us for our June 27 Member Gathering in the Chapter House! The meeting starts at 10:00 AM; coffee and doughnuts at 9:20 AM.

This Saturday our speaker is our own Darrel Watson. Darrel is an FAA Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR) and has vast knowledge on the intricacies of FAA regs concerning certification of aircraft and pilots. This month, however, he will be speaking to us about weather – where weather originates, how we take the collected data needed for forecasts, how we compile the data to be understood by layman and basically where does weather forecasting originate. Weather information disseminated on our EFBs and .gov resources is changing rapidly.

06/25/2026

While EAA’s B-17 and B-25 aren’t currently on tour, the Commemorative Air Force is bringing Fifi, the B-29, to the Washington Manassas Airport for the Fourth of July weekend, together with a BT-13, a T-6, and a C-47! Fifi will not be at Manassas on July 4 because she’s committed to various flyover events, but she’s selling rides on Friday, July 3, 2026, and Sunday, July 5, 2026.

Ride tickets for all the visiting aircraft and more information about the visit are on the Airpower Squadron Tour website.

Come see and ride the B-29 Superfortress, FIFI, the B-24 Liberator, Diamond Lil, and other aircraft of the CAF Air Power History Tour!

05/23/2026

Over 35 of us braved the rain to hear Phil Soucy speak about the SR-71. Phil is a retired Air Force Officer and former SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). Phil is a graduate of the USAF Test Pilot School as well as the Air Force Fighter Weapons School. He is also a docent at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Phil is Co-Founder and Chairman of MTSI, an Alexandria VA based Aerospace Engineering company. He is an aircraft owner and general aviation pilot. We’re learning about the technical attributes of the aircraft with an emphasis on the navigation systems that allowed it to accomplish its cold war mission — super cool!

04/25/2026

Almost 30 of us are enjoying a presentation by Dick Genaille, President of the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society (VAHS). The VAHS is committed to preserving aviation history and educating the general public of the many contributions Virginia has made and is making to the development of aviation and aerospace. Last year Dick presented “Aviation Firsts Along the Potomac” where we witnessed the findings of his thousands of hours of research into many historic aviation events along the Potomac River from Washington to Quantico. Dick has discovered some fascinating items in VAHS archives! His talk today began with Morton W. Lester, who wanted to guarantee that early contributors to aviation who weren’t famous wouldn’t be forgotten by history.

I suspect a few of us might wind up joining VAHS …

And don’t forget!:

Saturday May 2 VAHS Annual Meeting
1100 to 1700
Horse Feathers Airport
9669 Green Road
Midland, VA 22728

The Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society will hold their annual meeting on Saturday May 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Horse Feathers Airport (53VA), 9669 Green Road, Midland, VA. Horse Feathers is a sod strip located in beautiful Virginia countryside reminiscent of the early days of aviation.

All EAA Chapter 186 members and their families are invited to attend. Admission is free. You are welcome to spend as much time as you like at the event.

Attractions and Entertainment:
- VAHS archives and Hall of Fame displays
- VAHS Hall of Fame guest speakers
- Vintage aircraft static displays
- Airplane rides
- Tethered balloon rides
- RC aircraft demos
- Moon bounce and hay wagon rides
- Irish dancers
- Live music

Food and Beverages:
- Food trucks
- W**e and b**r bar

Fund Raisers:
- Silent/live auctions
- Raffles

It is preferred and recommended that fly-ins land at Warrenton-Fauquier Airport (HWY), 1533 Iris Trail, Midland, VA and use provided transportation to/from Horsefeathers (six miles). Please mark your calendars and plan to enjoy the day.

04/12/2026

Thanks to American Airshow Review visiting Warrenton-Fauquier Airport - KHWY while we were doing our Young Eagles event, we got more lovely pictures of some of our Chapter’s aircraft in action! Our visitors enjoyed the other aircraft too, especially the aerobatic ones putting on impromptu airshows in the aerobatic box, the classic Stearman selling rides, and the jump plane releasing parachutists to brighten up the sky while kids were waiting to fly!