UND flight instructor wins airplane at Oshkosh

Ashley Almquist, told she was attending sister’s award ceremony at EAA AirVenture, instead given keys to new Aviat Husky

By Averie Eixenberger

At the 2026 EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association held a sweepstakes to give away an Aviat Husky A-1C. This year’s lucky winner was University of North Dakota flight instructor Ashley Almquist.

Almquist received the keys to the airplane July 23 during a surprise ceremony. As an AOPA member, she was automatically entered in the sweepstakes and randomly selected as the winner.

Her presence at the ceremony, however, was anything but random.

Getting her to Oshkosh

Members of AOPA, UND Flight Operations and Almquist’s family quickly devised a ruse to get her to the event without spoiling the surprise. Almquist said she had no idea what they were planning.

“A couple weeks back, I got a call from my mom saying that my sister, Ava, had won some award and it was being presented Wednesday morning,” Almquist said. “It was nothing unsurprising to me that my sister would win some award with all of the work she has done through her business and public speaking at events.”

Almquist said she couldn’t miss the chance to see her sister receive an award at Oshkosh. After completing three flights, she left for the long drive to Wisconsin around 5:30 p.m., arriving in Appleton around 2 a.m.

The next morning, Almquist and her family were running a little late after picking up Ava from the airport. By the time they reached the AOPA tent, they simply joined a crowd that appeared to be gathered for an award presentation.

The last hand raised

As the ceremony began, AOPA’s Katie Pribyl started announcing the winner through a series of questions.

She asked audience members to raise their hands, then lower them as they were eliminated. The questions progressively narrowed the field: Who was a pilot? A flight instructor? Who had pilots in their family? Who attended the same college as their sister? And, finally, who had served as a ground coordinator in the Air Race Classic?

At the end, only Almquist remained with her hand raised.

“When the announcement was made, I went through a couple stages of emotions relatively quickly,” Almquist said. “First, confusion at why my hand was up while my sister’s was not, leaving me the winner.”

Then, she said, her brain caught up with what was happening.

“After my brain caught up that Katie was pointing to an airplane and saying my name, it was simply pure shock,” Almquist said. “Not only had I won something, but it was this beautiful plane in front of me.”

The moments that followed were a blur, she said, as she tried to process what had happened while answering questions about her family and how she was feeling.

“Honestly, it didn’t truly sink in that I owned an airplane until a couple of days later,” she said.

From UND to the backcountry

Originally from Bay Village, Ohio, Almquist graduated from UND in May 2026, with degrees in commercial aviation and aviation safety.

She now works as a multiengine flight instructor and aspires to become a United Airlines pilot, following in the footsteps of her father and sister.

Almquist plans to use her new airplane for camping trips and backcountry flying — and as a good reason to earn her tailwheel endorsement.

“I’d just love to give a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this past week,” Almquist said. “While winning this airplane is an incredible opportunity that I could not be more thankful for, it also comes with significant responsibility and plenty of logistics to navigate.”

She credited UND, AOPA, Aviat Aircraft, the Recreational Aviation Foundation, her family and others in the general aviation community with helping make it possible for her to keep the airplane.

“I’m truly thankful for everyone who has helped make this possible,” Almquist said.

About the author:

Averie Eixenberger is a communications and writing intern for UND Aerospace.