At the program 's inception EAA decided to recruit a well-known person to act as Chairman and raise the profile of the program . The program 's founding chairman was actor Cliff Robertson who served in that capacity from 1992 to 1994 . Robertson was succeeded in 1994 by retired USAF General and test pilot Chuck Yeager , the first person to intentionally fly faster than the speed of sound . Yeager stepped down as chairman in 2004 and , in March 2004 , actor and pilot Harrison Ford became Chairman of the Young Eagles program . Ford has flown more than 300 Young Eagles in several types of aircraft , and finished his five-year term in 2009 . In September 2009 , Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles , who became famous in the US Airways Flight 1549 Hudson River ditching on 15 January 2009 , were named as the program 's new co-chairmen
US Airways Flight 1549
US Airways Flight 1549
Young Eagles