Experimental Aircraft Association
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| Type | Not for profit |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Headquarters | Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States |
| Membership | Individuals and companies |
| Field | Aviation advocacy |
| Number of Members | 175,000 (2012) |
| Founder | Paul Poberezny |
| Chairman Emeritus | Tom Poberezny |
| Chairman of the Board | Jack J. Pelton (October 2012) |
| CEO | Jack J. Pelton (November 2015) |
| President | Vacant (October 2012) |
| Young Eagles Chairman | Sean D. Tucker |
| Website | www.eaa.org |
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 180,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide.
The organization is overseen by a chairman, a president, a CEO and a board of directors. Paul Poberezny assumed the duties of president and CEO at the 1953 founding. In 1989 he assumed the (newly created) position of chairman of the board, and his son Tom Poberezny became president and CEO. In March 2009 Paul Poberezny resigned, and the board voted to elevate Tom Poberezny to chairman of the board. At AirVenture 2010, it was announced that Rod Hightower would succeed Tom Poberezny as president of the organization, effective September 2010.
Hightower resigned on 22 October 2012 "effective immediately", directly after a board of directors meeting during which former Cessna chairman, president and CEO Jack J. Pelton was elected chairman. Hightower indicated he was resigning to spend more time with his family and would not relocate from St. Louis to Oshkosh. Pelton was named acting CEO and will oversee the hiring process for Hightower's permanent replacement. In response to questions about Hightower's resignation, Mac McClellan, EAA vice president of publications, stated that it was due to Hightower failing to relocate himself from his home in St. Louis to EAA headquarters in Oshkosh, as the board had expected him to. McClellan said, "I know there's all kinds of complaints, but that's not it. [The residency] was the unsolvable requirement. The board sees the president/CEO living in the Fox Valley as essential to the mission."
Local chapters may be formed whenever ten or more EAA members reside in a given area.
Chapters are encouraged to meet monthly. The first chapter meeting occurred at Flabob Airport in California, with noted aircraft designer and builder Ray Stits presiding.
The EAA was founded in 1953 by veteran aviator Paul Poberezny along with other aviation enthusiasts. The organization began as more or less a flying club. Paul Poberenzy explains the nature of the organization's name, "Because the planes we flew were modified or built from scratch, they were required to display an EXPERIMENTAL placard where it could be seen on the door or cockpit, so it was quite natural that we call ourselves the "Experimental Aircraft Association". Homebuilding is still a large part of EAA, but the organization has grown over the years to include almost every aspect of aviation and aeronautics.
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