Local flying club creates flight training program for youth
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RIGBY — A local flying club is kicking off a flight training program this month for youth between the ages of 11 and 15.
The Eastern Idaho Flying Club, at the Rigby Airport, 136 North Yellowstone Highway, has been around since 2019.
Dustin Woodhouse is the founder. He’s also the treasurer of the flight club, and there is a board. Click here to learn more. He said there wasn’t a place in town where people could rent an airplane or get access to one for recreational flying. That’s why the club was created.
“We do private pilot flight training for people who want to become a pilot, and we also do advanced training for pilots who want to get more advanced certifications,” Woodhouse said.
Woodhouse is a pilot and an instructor. He has been in love with the idea of flying his whole life.
“I just decided about 15 years ago that I was tired of looking up in the sky, wishing I was up there. I sold my wakeboard boat and took the money and went and got my pilot’s license,” he said.
The nonprofit started with only five members and one airplane, but it quickly grew. Today, the club has over 50 members and three airplanes, with a fourth airplane soon to be added.
The Eastern Idaho Flying Club has developed a new program. Woodhouse started to hear from his friends that their kids wanted to learn how to fly. He himself also has a 14-year-old daughter who wants to learn.
“I thought, wouldn’t it be great if we could provide flight instruction in a fun group setting for kids at an early age? The FAA does not set a minimum age limit on receiving flight instruction. They only set a minimum limit on the age that somebody can apply for a student certificate and become a pilot,” Woodhouse said.
“Your minimum age for a student certificate is 16 years old, and a minimum age to get your pilot’s license is 17 years old. We designed this program for kids who are younger than 16, so that they can start getting exposed to aviation in a very fun, safe environment,” he continued.
The program is intended to ignite excitement and curiosity about aviation in local youth. It allows them and their parents to explore flight training in an inexpensive way.
“We did an orientation the other day where the kids got their equipment when they joined the program. The initial join fee is $250, and they get a headset and a flight bag. They get a logbook and they get a hat and a T-shirt,” he said.
Junior members will participate in a group flight lesson each month, field trips to aviation-related destinations twice a year, and participate in free ride-alongs with other club members.
Flight training through the program applies toward the FAA requirements for a private pilot license.
“Every lesson, they’ll be sitting in the front seat, and they’ll be the driver. They’ll be in the pilot seat flying the airplane with assistance from the instructor,” Woodhouse said.
The airplanes they are flying are Cessna 4-seaters which are intended for training.
Woodhouse said that spots are limited and they only accept six memberships for the youth flight training program currently. At this time, it’s full.
“There’s a waitlist and we may be opening more spots. They still want to contact us, and they still want to submit our membership application because that saves their spot up on the waitlist,” Woodhouse said.
Click here to learn more on how to submit an application to be put on the waitlist.
It is a monthly membership and can be canceled at any time. Woodhouse said that when a junior member turns 16, their club membership automatically rolls into a full membership. They help them apply for their FAA student license, and they become eligible for one-on-one flight training with an instructor.
“Our program is all instructional and every hour that these kids fly, it gets logged in their logbook and counts towards the FAA minimum requirements for their pilot license,” Woodhouse said.
He is looking forward to beginning the new and unique program. The first flight lesson will be on Sept. 16.
“I’m very excited about it. I think these kids are going to have a great time, and I think many of them are going to go through and become pilots,” Woodhouse said.
Biz Bits
USA Fly Fishing Team Announced for 2026 World Fly Fishing Championship in Idaho Falls, ID
The following is a news release from USA Angling.
IDAHO FALLS — The United States has officially named its team for the 45th FIPS-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championship, to be held Sept. 13–18, 2026, in Idaho Falls. Competing on home waters, USA will feature the same powerhouse lineup that earned back-to-back team bronze medals at the 2024 World Championship in France and the 2025 World Championship in Czechia.
Those podium finishes account for two of only four team medals the United States has earned since it began competing in World Fly Fishing Championships in the 1980s, solidifying this group as one of the most accomplished teams in U.S. competitive fly fishing history.
The team qualified based on their final performances at the 2025 U.S. National Fly Fishing Championship, held last September in Idaho. The event challenged anglers across three rivers and two lakes, demanding a high level of technical skill and adaptability. The top five finishers, who will now represent the United States at Worlds, were:
- 1st place – Cody Burgdorff (Lafayette, Colorado)
- 2nd place – Devin Olsen (Lander, Wyoming)
- 3rd place – Michael Bradley (Cherokee, North Carolina)
- 4th place – Jack Arnot (Vail, Colorado)
- 5th place – Mike Komara (Pittsburgh, PA)
Sweeping the top five positions at Nationals underscores the team’s depth, consistency, and readiness to compete for gold on the international stage.
“This group has already proven they can stand on the world podium — twice,” said a USA team representative. “Now they’ll have the rare opportunity to chase a world title in front of a home crowd, on familiar water. That’s something special.”
The 2026 World Fly Fishing Championship will bring together over 100 elite anglers from around the globe to compete on the rivers and stillwaters of northeastern Idaho, southwestern Montana and western Wyoming, a region renowned for its fisheries and fly fishing heritage.
Lions Vision Center launches visionary ‘buy-one, give-one’ initiative across Idaho
The following is a news release from Lions Vision Center.
BOISE — To address critical eye care gaps across the state, the Lions Vision Center has officially launched its new sustainable “buy-one, give-one” charitable model alongside the dedication of the Henry and Liz Cardinale Glasses Recycling Center.
Dedicated to providing high-quality, low-cost frames and lenses to the general public, the center will now operate on a matching basis: Whenever a customer purchases a pair of glasses, the Lions Vision Center will provide a donated pair to an Idaho resident facing financial hardship, regardless of where they live in the state.
“We are so pleased to roll out this buy-one, give-one program,” said Jay Lugo, CEO of Envision Sight. “Recent reporting indicates that over 40,000 Idaho residents live with documented visual disabilities, and roughly 22% actively skip annual eye care due to cost and access barriers. This launch allows us to help overcome that need on a much broader scale.”
How Idahoans can support the mission to help others:
- Donate old unused glasses: Residents across the state are encouraged to drop off their old, unused glasses at their local driver’s license office. Collected glasses will be processed and repurposed at the new Henry and Liz Cardinale Glasses Recycling Center.
- Shop online: Anyone can browse and purchase high-quality, low-cost frames directly through the Lions Vision Center Website to trigger a matching pair for a neighbor in need.
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