I write this after returning from a leisurely evening flight around northeastern Manitoba. The air was so smooth and the colours so vibrant. It's too bad the evenings are short now. It seems we have to turn around and land in no time.
For those of you that volunteer with youths on the delivery of EAA programs such as Young Eagles and AeroEducate, I would like to ask for your feedback on the background check process. It has come to my attention that there has been significant confusion and delays with the process that Canadians are to use. Our chapter has had delays of more than five months, which we have been told is due to the company that EAA has contracted to process background checks for Canadians. Please let me know what your experiences have been.
Last month, I received an email asking why we don't have an aviation gathering in Canada, like AirVenture. One wouldn't expect it to be the size of what we see in Oshkosh, but why don't we have one? I know that other organizations have hosted national fly-in types of events, which have had good success on a local level, but limited success to attract attendees on a national level. There's significant logistics to organize such an event, and the one way that I see this even being possible is to tag onto a Canadian air show, perhaps the day before or after. I welcome your suggestions on how this might be possible.
Email me at chair.eaacc@gmail.com. I appreciate hearing from you.
Safe flying!
A Message from EAA Headquarters
EAA is aware of the current backlog affecting Canadian background checks. Because EAA's youth protection background checks are processed through a U.S.-based provider, Canadian submissions must also be routed through a Canadian entity. Historically, EAA members in Canada were automatically entered into that system or contacted directly by the organization managing the Canadian portion of the check.
It has recently come to the attention of the Young Eagles team that members are no longer being notified that an additional Canadian form is required. As a result, our team is often unaware of these delays until a member reaches out to us directly. We have a meeting scheduled for early October to address these issues with the appropriate parties to re-automate the process.
In the meantime, Canadian EAA members awaiting approval should submit the American Order Entry form , which will automatically place them into the processing queue.
EAA apologizes for the inconvenience and appreciates your patience as we work to resolve this matter.
