Former GAN columnist bestows first scholarship

Thanks to sales of his book, “YIKES! 100 Smart Pilots and the Dumb Things They Did Yet Lived to Tell About ‘Em,” former General Aviation News Human Factors columnist Jeffrey Madison recently gave out his first $5,000 flight training scholarship.

The scholarship money was presented to Eagle Flight Squadron, of East Orange, N.J., on June 14, 2025, during a ceremony celebrating that organization’s 50th anniversary.

“The story of how Reverend Russell White founded Eagle Flight Squadron in the basement of his church to keep ‘kids in his community out of prison, hospital and the cemetery’ was the initial inspiration behind writing the book,” Jeffrey said. “So presenting our very first flight training scholarship to them was not just a full circle moment for me, it was the beginning of a dream coming true.”

“Our goal is to sell 1 million copies and thus provide hundreds of training scholarships or flight simulators to dozens of under-resourced Civil Air Patrol squadrons, flight schools, and STEM programs all around the country,” he said.

The scholarship will go to one cadet to use to complete their private pilot certificate.

“We’re fortunate to own our own two Cessnas, so for us, $5,000 will cover over 40 hours of flight time,” said Eagle Flight Squadron Executive Director Michael Chisholm.

The scholarship was presented to Eagle Flight Squadron through the Victor Kilo Fund, an aerospace education non-profit foundation created by Jeffrey and his wife.

“We named our foundation Victor Kilo because that’s Greek for ‘a thousand victories,’” Jeffrey said. “Whether it’s your private pilot rating, your A&P, or your ATC certification, each big dream takes about a thousand little victories to achieve.”

Autographed copies of “YIKES! 100 Smart Pilots and the Dumb Things They Did Yet Lived to Tell About ‘Em” are available at YikesTheBook.com. The book is also available in Kindle and Audible format on Amazon.

For more information: YikesTheBook.com