Welcome to EAA Chapter 54. We speak aviation!

From its beginnings in the late '50s, Chapter 54 of the Experimental Aircraft Association has served aviation enthusiasts, dreamers, aircraft builders, pilots, would-be pilots, and individuals interested in helping young people become aviators in the East Metro of Minnesota's Twin Cities. 

We hold a gathering on the second Monday of each month at the Chapter House at Lake Elmo Airport (21D) to talk aviation and socialize.  We provide Young Eagles rides and aviation scholarships. We help people who are building airplanes.  But you don't need to be a pilot to participate in our activities.

Please come to our next gathering as our guest. Let us know you're coming so you can be properly greeted and introduced to the chapter.

Latest Chapter News

Letter from the President
Oshkosh, pancakes, seeking help, amphibisizing' my SkyRaider, and a trip to Oregon

"We discovered an interesting St. Paul connection in the Columbia Gorge area. St. Paul tycoon JJ Hill's daughter Mary's husband built a mansion in the middle of nowhere at the arid east end of the Columbia Gorge, ten miles above the dam on the Columbia River at 'The Dalles'. Mary only lasted 6 months in the Pacific NW before declaring it unfit for her and moving back to St.Paul, separating permanently from her husband who stayed behind. Her husband turned the mansion into a massive museum, now called the MaryHill museum, with an eclectic/odd collection of art and artifacts. 3 miles away on a hilltop above the Columbia River he built a full size replica of the complete original Stonehenge monument. The local stone wasn't suitable for such use so he built it with reinforced concrete finished to resemble stone."  Read more >

Young Eagles
Smoked out again

It's been a rough Young Eagles season for Chapter 54 so far. For the second month in a row, the event had to be scrapped because of weather. Heavy smoke from Canadian wildfires kept visibility under 5 miles on Saturday July 12. Volunteers waited the 4-mile visibility to improve, but it didn't as Young Eagles and their parents waited patiently until the event was called.

Had flights been possible, the teams still would have been challenged as only three volunteer pilots were available to fly more than 40 kids.

At least the kids and their parents were able to hear from chapter legend Leif Erickson, who conducted his What's Next program for those interested in learning more about aviation.

The squad did have a respectable turnout of ground volunteers, led by Vicky Moore, who will be honored at Oshkosh as the national Young Eagles Ground Crew member of the year. She'll be moving fast at Oshkosh. She reports the Swift banquet is being held at a nearby restaurant the same evening as the Oshkosh awards ceremony.

The next Young Eagles Day will be Saturday August 9.

There was a good turnout for the monthly meeting on July 14, no doubt because the speaker was Minnesota Aviation Hall of Famer John Mohr. We also had quite a number of visitors and young people interested in aviation and learning to fly. During the business portion of the meeting, Marlon Gunderson went over plans for the upcoming pancake breakfast, announced our Ray Scholarship recipient soloed that same day, and invited members to attend (virtually) the next Board of Directors meeting on August 4.

Then it was on to John Mohr, who grew up in the Crane Lake area and took his first airplane ride in a J-3 Cub on floats with his father as a one-year old. He soloed at age fourteen and received his private license in 1970 and other licenses followed. In 1972, Mohr constructed a home-built helicopter using a boat outboard motor. He built four others over the years. He flew for the Einarson brothers at International Falls, hauling fishermen from camp to camp, making ambulance flights and instructing. In 1975, he purchased a Stearman biplane, restored it and soon began to perform aerobatics at local events. He moved to Orr, MN and started his own flying service. He was then hired by North Central Airlines to fly the DC-9. Today he is flying for Delta Airlines. In addition to his airline career, Mohr continues to fly exhibitions all over the world. Mohr has received many showmanship awards and has run his total flight time to 37,000 hours. Read more >

Ray Scholarship
It takes a village to raise a pilot

Another year, another (almost) new pilot! Elisha Redmann, our 2025 Ray Scholarship recipient, soloed on July 14 at Lake Elmo Aviation. Thanks to the work of his CFI, along with Ray Scholarship coordinator Bruce Olson, Elisha is making tremendous progress on his way to becoming a pilot. Congratuations!

The scholarship program is funded by the Ray Foundation, managed by EAA, and administered through the EAA chapter network. Through the program, EAA is able to provide deserving youths up to $11,000 to help cover flight training expenses. EAA received $1.8 million from the Ray Foundation for 2023.

Since the program’s introduction in 2019, more than 730 scholarships have been provided to young people with a passion for aviation. The current pilot certificate completion rate for Ray scholars is 81 percent, with approximately 240 more scholars currently in-flight training.

Over the last two years, two of Chapter 54's scholarship recipients have pursued their pilot certificate. Anna Chase , soloed in June 2024, passed her written exam in October, and passed her checkride in January 2025.  See more photos of Elisha >

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