GAMA design challenge winner awarded Stimpson scholarship

GAMA Aviation Design Challenge participant Lucas Daniels of Atlanta and aircraft build project leader Mehul Dhillon of Columbus, Indiana, each received $2,000 to continue their aviation studies under the 2021 Edward W. Stimpson Aviation Excellence Award scholarship program. Additionally, Matthew Leahey of Villa Rica, Georgia, was awarded a $2,000 International Council of Airshows Foundation GAMA Scholarship.

Daniels was a member of the 2020 Riverwood International Charter School team that applied science, technology, engineering, and math skills to X-Plane technology to squeeze maximum performance out of a virtual aircraft. More than 80 high schools in 35 states entered the competition, which was more challenging than usual because teams had to practice social distancing during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Daniels plans to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and then pursue a professional pilot career.

Dhillon, a Civil Air Patrol cadet who provided leadership during a Van’s Aircraft RV–12 student build project, plans to attend Purdue University and study aeronautical and astronautical engineering. His long-term goal is to help design renewable-energy aircraft.

Leahey is enrolled at Georgia Northwestern Technical College and is pursuing an aviation maintenance technician career.

Sporty’s Academy awards two checkride scholarships

Sporty’s Academy student pilots William Dunkman and Jonathan Sadler were awarded checkride scholarships in honor of Dave Stahl, a longtime flight instructor and designated pilot examiner known to many southwest Ohio pilots. The inaugural Dave Stahl Memorial Scholarship was established within the Sporty’s Foundation by family and friends to honor Stahl’s legacy. “Uncle Dave would be proud,” Jackie Stahl, the DPE’s niece, told the aviation retailer June 10.

Wings for Val Foundation awards four scholarships

Four female aviators were awarded flight training scholarships by the Wings for Val Foundation valued between $500 and $5,000 so they can pursue their aviation dreams. The foundation is named in honor of U.S. Navy Lt. Valerie Cappelaere Delaney, a naval aviator who died during a jet training mission in 2013.

Biologist and private pilot Abigail Wells wants to be a wildlife and research pilot; seasonal park ranger Claire Dal Nogare hopes to fly helicopters for the U.S. Army; Texas Flies Flight School student Jacqueline Kall plans to join the U.S. Air Force; and Civil Air Patrol cadet and incoming University of Notre Dame freshman Elizabeth Keppel recently soloed and hopes to fly for the U.S. Navy.

Muskogee Airmen establish scholarship to honor one of their own

The Muskogee Airmen Flying Club established a flight training scholarship in honor of club co-founder Tim Allison to enable a local high school student or young adult to obtain a private pilot certificate at zero cost. Allison died in an April airplane accident at age 28. “When he and I founded this club in December of 2019, our mission was to promote general aviation for the youth in our community,” recalled co-founder Mack Parks. Allison started the flying club so “he could share his passion for aviation with individuals who may not otherwise be able to afford flying lessons,” the club announced June 9.

OBAP scholarship team hosting United Aviate info session

The Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals and United Airlines will host an online session to explain how potential airline pilots can become eligible for the United Aviate program and one of four comprehensive scholarships provided by the organization. The airline plans to hire more than 10,000 pilots in the next decade. Registration for the June 23 seminar closes June 22.