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SUN ‘n FUN’s 50th pilot gets his wings

By General Aviation News Staff · June 29, 2016 ·

LAKELAND, Florida — SUN ‘n FUN and the Aerospace Center for Excellence report that the James C. Ray Scholarship program recently created its 50th teenage private pilot, Matt Atkins.

Matt will graduate from Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) in June 2017 and plans to continue his quest for a career in aviation.

SUNnFUN 50th pilot

Since beginning the scholarship program five years ago, SUN ‘n FUN has invested time and money into the Central Florida Aerospace Academy Foundation to fund both flight training and aerospace-related college tuition for local area students.

None of these opportunities would be possible without the philanthropic support of James C. Ray for whom the scholarships are named and thousands of hours from dedicated volunteers.

As a World War II bomber pilot, James would tell you that soloing an aircraft changed his life forever and that he hopes to share this opportunity with as many high school students as possible.

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