July 14, 2026
By Tim Hundt
VIROQUA, Wis. — Over the weekend in the midst of a heavily attended Fly-In Drive-In Breakfast at the Viroqua airport, a local student pilot was named the first Ray Aviation Scholar for the Viroqua Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) chapter, receiving a $7,200 scholarship to fund his private pilot certificate.
Bentley Nelson was awarded the check during a presentation at the Viroqua Municipal Airport attended by his parents, Shawna and Reggie, his flight instructor Steve Messner, Viroqua Mayor Kista Browne, and Assemblyperson Tara Johnson. The scholarship, provided by EAA headquarters in Oshkosh and administered locally by EAA Chapter 1439, is highly competitive, selecting only 120 to 125 youth across the U.S. and Canada annually.
Before nominating a student, the local chapter had to apply and meet rigorous criteria, a process Nelson acknowledged during his speech.
“To meet all the criteria this chapter had to work very hard,” Nelson said. “They were accepted, and then they chose me to apply … I’m glad that they had all that faith in me for that.”
Over the years, Nelson has built a strong relationship with the Viroqua flying club after first becoming interested in aviation at one of their fly-in events.
“Everyone here has been very welcoming,” Nelson said. “The first meeting I walked into, everyone just said hi. Everyone was very nice. Rich let me sit in his airplane. That was, that was a great day”.
Rich Loomis, the scholarship coordinator for Chapter 1439, highlighted Nelson’s consistent dedication to the airport and the organization.
“Bentley has been a constant presence here as a volunteer, as a student pilot, obviously, working with our younger kids in our youth programs, and even doing grunt work around the airfield, you know, pulling weeds,” Loomis said.
Nelson’s aviation journey began at age 13 after attending an EAA Young Eagles flight. Because he was too young to drive, his parents drove him to every flight lesson for three years.
“They have given me more support than I could ever imagine,” Nelson said.
He began his training with Messner following a chance meeting at the Reedsburg Airport, when Nelson and his father were on their way back from another aviation event and walked onto the tarmac. Messner is based in Tomah but does instruction and many area airports. He said Nelson is an “exceptional young man” and a dedicated student.
“[T]here we met Steve, and he didn’t shoo us away, tell us that we’re not authorized,” Nelson recalled. “I don’t know if I know a braver person … ’cause he got into an airplane with a 13-year-old who couldn’t fly. And, uh, so thanks for putting up with me trying to kill you”.
Loomis praised Messner for being a consistently supportive instructor, noting that keeping the same instructor through a multi-year training process is “kind of a big deal” in an industry with high turnover.
Nelson is scheduled to take his private pilot check ride in August, around his 17th birthday. He plans to take his instrument check ride just a month later, a quick timeline that Loomis said is “nothing short of remarkable”.
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