Eric Whyte

Eric Whyte is the first EAA Young Eagle to earn a pilot's license and come back and to give Young Eagle rides. He received his Young Eagle ride in a Cessna O-2 at the 1992 Oshkosh Convention and returned to the Convention in 1993 as a Private Pilot and gave Young Eagle rides. Since then, he has flown nearly 400 Young Eagles. Before becoming a Young Eagle, Eric was a member of the 1990 class of the EAA's Air Academy program. He has been a volunteer at the Oshkosh Fly-In Convention since 1982 working as a volunteer parking homebuilt aircraft and as the Co-Founder and Chairman of the EAA AirVenture Cup Cross Country race. In 1997, he was the Cliff Robertson Work Experience Program CFI at EAA’s Pioneer Airport, and helped out on the Air Academy Staff. Eric Began flying lessons while a high school student and soloed a Piper Cherokee on his 16th birthday. He earned his Private Pilot license a year later. After graduating from high school, Eric earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation from St. Cloud State University, in St. Cloud, Minnesota. In addition to his degree, he also earned his Commercial Pilot's certificate and became a Flight Instructor. Eric's first job after college was the instructor for the Cliff Robertson Internship program at EAA providing flight instruction in a J-3 Cubby. Since that time he has accumulated more than 2,200 hours of flight instruction and nearly 6,000 hours total flying time in more than 84 different types of aircraft ranging from rare antiques to one-of-a-kind Experimental aircraft and business jets. In addition to his CFI, CFII, and MEI, Eric holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with five type ratings. Currently, Eric serves as President of EAA Chapter 18, in Milwaukee, Wis., where he works as a corporate pilot flying the Cessna CitationJet CJ1 corporate jet. He also does some part time work flying Citation III, Beechjet 400A, Mitsubishi Diamond 1A, and the Beechcraft King Air B200 turboprop. When he is not flying for a living, Eric enjoys flying for fun.