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Riverside, Ill., January 16, 2007 – Former EAA Young Eagle Joe Kenahan, a Riverside-Brookfield High School senior, turned 18 and soloed his first plane just three days after his birthday. But for Joe, birthdays and flying go hand in hand, ever since he celebrated turning 11 with a flight veteran Young Eagles pilot Arnie Zimmerman’s experimental, “Breezy.”
Joe remembered his first flight as part of the Young Eagles program saying, “The Breezy doesn’t have an enclosed cockpit. It’s like a go-cart with wings, with the breeze all around you.”
A year later he came back to fly with Zimmerman for his 12th birthday, bringing six of his friends. Zimmerman has been flying for 50 years and continually gave rides to Kenahan. Eventually the two built a new “Breezy” together.
Moreover, Zimmerman sponsored Kenahan for a scholarship to EAA’s Air Academy in Oshkosh.
Joe says he feels relaxed in the air. “Flying is not that intense. It’s pushing pedals and pulling the yoke. You just have to make sure you’re in complete control and not ‘behind the airplane,’” he said.
Currently, Kenahan flies a Cessna 152, saying, “It’s small, and cheap to fly. It’s safe with a good pilot and good maintenance.”
On the day of his solo, Joe practiced takeoffs and landings with his instructor, Ilian Peltekov. With a few last minute worlds of advice, Joe was off on his own.
So far, flying has gone smoothly for Joe. He will later take the FAA written test and flight test to complete his training and accomplish his goal of obtaining a private pilot certificate.
Joe doesn’t plan on attending flight school, but hopes to enroll at Stanford, Harvard, Princeton or Notre Dame. He is interested in aviation as well as engineering, musical theater and international relations. He is currently captain of the high school varsity soccer and swim teams and is a distance runner on the track team. In the past springs, he has been a member of the Bulldog baseball and tennis teams.
Besides sports, Joe is active in Riverside-Brookfield’s arts program, performing with the Madrigal Singers and Men’s Ensemble and has performed in theater productions. On top of it all, he has gone on service trips to Nicaragua and Peru and coached RB’s Special Olympics team. You can see why Kenahan has been nominated for Wendy’s national High School Heisman Award!
Zimmerman summed him up by saying, “Joe has the talent and drive to be a good pilot. He’s got his head on straight. I’ve watched this kids grow.”
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Joe Kenahan soloed in this Cessna 152, three days after his 18th birthday, adding to his already long list of accomplishments. Photo Credit: Mark Rice; courtesy of the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark
Now that his solo is complete, Joe plans to continue his training toward his private pilot certificate. Photo Credit: Mark Rice; courtesy of the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark
For More Information
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