Able Flight, which awards flight training scholarships to people with disabilities, has announced the winners of seven 2015 scholarships.
This year’s class includes three veterans who were either wounded or injured during service or afterwards, a young man who is deaf, and several people who use wheelchairs due to paralysis.
Six of the students will take part in Able Flight’s joint training program with Purdue University’s Department of Aviation Technology, while the seventh will earn an advanced certificate at another location.
In a first for Able Flight, scholarship recipient Randy Green of Missouri will train for his ATP certificate. Green was born without hands or feet and is already a Commercial pilot and CFI. He will train at a facility in Texas.
Receiving scholarships to train at Purdue are Scot Abrams of New York, a former Marine who was serving as a police officer and was paralyzed in an accident while on duty, Stephen Carrier of Louisiana who became paralyzed in a motor vehicle accident, James Lowman, a retired Army veteran and helicopter pilot from North Carolina who was severely injured during combat operations in Iraq, Raymart Tinio of California who is deaf, and John Robinson of North Carolina, a Navy veteran who was paralyzed in an auto accident.
In addition to this year’s recipients, wounded veteran Sgt. Adam Kisielewski (U.S Marines-retired) of Maryland will train for his private pilot certificate. Kisielewski earned his Sport Pilot certificate through Able Flight in 2012 and was awarded a scholarship to upgrade to Private Pilot in 2014 and will complete his training this year.
Able Flight’s Charles Stites said, “Our class of 2015 will soon experience the demanding and intensive program we have designed with our partners at Purdue University. This will be our sixth year working with Purdue, and our graduates of that program will be guests of honor when they receive their Able Flight Wings on stage at EAA AirVenture just weeks after becoming licensed pilots.”
I salute these rationally selfish people and their desire to fly a plane, not merely be a rider. In todays world, human knowledge has advanced to such a degree as to provide a solution to any problem confronted. It is great to see that these pilots and future pilots exist.
Three quarters centuary ago my budy and I wanted to fly so much that we attempted to build a plane.
To day, at 91, I have been taking flying lessons. However, due to glaucoma, I have been delared legally blind and prohibited from driving or flying. I hope that the solutiion can be found to make it possible for me to continue and get an SPC. I’ll let you if I can.