Made possible through donations to the AOPA Foundation, the more than $1 million in scholarships are a major benefit of AOPA membership, helping members reach their aviation goals.
You need only submit one application that will be automatically considered for all scholarships for which you are eligible.
The number and amount of all scholarships will be determined by donor funding, which may not be finalized until immediately before awards are announced. Scholarship applicants will be considered for all scholarships for which they qualify.
Review our Frequently Asked Questions for additional information, including how to become an AOPA member.
Attention high school students and teachers! Watch our webinar to learn how to ace your private pilot certificate scholarship application.
$2,500 and up; the number of awards will vary
Primary certification
(Sport, Recreational or Private Pilot certificate)
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Our flight training scholarships are funded by generous donations to the AOPA Foundation. Miscellaneous donations for scholarships are combined and awarded to help members reach their aviation goals.
Award Summary
80 $10,000 scholarships available
Private Pilot Certificate
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The Ray Foundation – established by the late aviator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, James C. Ray.
James believed that life skills are learned through aviation. We are proud to help carry on his legacy by awarding merit-based scholarships to 80 high school students.
Here are some excellent resources to help you ace a $10,000 scholarship and pass the written test:
Award Summary
Up to 20 $10,000 scholarships available
Private Pilot Certificate
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The Ray Foundation – established by the late aviator, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, James C. Ray.
James believed that life skills are learned through aviation. We are proud to help carry on his legacy by awarding flight training scholarships to up to 20 high school teachers utilizing the You Can Fly aviation-based STEM curriculum.
Here are some excellent resources to help you ace a $10,000 scholarship and pass the written test:
Award Summary
$5,000
Advanced Rating
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The friends and family of Michael D. McGibney
Award Summary
$14,000 for flight training $2,700 for maintenance
Two flight training scholarships
Two aviation maintenance scholarships
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H. Ross Perot Jr. via the AllianceTexas Foundation
Award Summary
Two $5,000 scholarships available
Commercial Certificate or Instrument Rating
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The Bill Stroecker Foundation - William George "Bill" Stroecker was the best known civic leader in Fairbanks over the 50-year period between 1960-2010, when he passed at age 90. Born July 31, 1920 in Fairbanks, Stroecker never called anywhere else home. When he passed, he left a legacy through the Bill Stroecker Foundation designed to benefit the community for another 50 years.
Award Summary
Amount Will Vary
Primary Certification (Sport, Recreational, or Private Pilot certificate)
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The Alatary family in memory of Bruce Alatary. Bruce was a Professional Engineer and throughout his career, he helped educate and mentor young people pursuing similar professional goals. He came to flying later in life but it quickly became his passion. In keeping with Bruce’s commitment to sharing skills and knowledge with future generations, we honor his life and memory by offering this scholarship to provide support to those who share his love of aviation either as a hobby or as a career choice.
Award Summary
Two $5,000+ scholarships available
One scholarship for primary certification
(Sport, Recreational or Private Pilot certificate)
One scholarship for an advanced rating
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Ceci Stratford of Simi Valley, California, is a former Peace Corps Volunteer (Guatemala) and a retired telecommunications, systems and bank operations analyst who has taken her support of aviation’s future to the next level by establishing the Ceci Stratford Flight Training Scholarship.
Ceci is a CFI whose passion for flying extends to her volunteer activities, including serving as former San Fernando Valley 99s Chapter Scholarship Chair, and current Scholarship Co-Chair for the 99s Southwest Section. She has taken many young people on their first flights (over 850) through EAA’s Young Eagles program and serves as an advisor for the Aviation Explorers Post 747.
Ceci has mentored many student pilots in their pursuit of flight training scholarships and careers in aviation and aims to increase the number of women and girls in the aviation field.
Award Summary
200 $2,000 awards available
Funds can be used for any aviation education purpose
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The Corporate Aircraft Association was founded to promote the affordable growth of jet-fueled Part 91 general aviation. CAA serves large corporate flight departments with fleets of aircraft, individual owner-operators, aircraft management companies, and everything in between. CAA promotes loyalty to their member FBOs in return for their industry-leading fuel prices and excellent service, and is excited to partner with the AOPA Foundation to offer these scholarships to employees of our CAA-preferred FBOs.
Award Summary
Amount will vary
Primary certification
(Sport, Recreational or Private Pilot certificate)
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Brenton Taussig in memory of Daniel T. Taussig.
Award Summary
$5,000
Primary certification
(Sport, Recreational or Private Pilot certificate)
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David Kleine, in memory of his beloved wife, Florence, who loved general aviation and the opportunities it provided for her family and others.
Award Summary
Four awards of $5,000 each
Primary certification
(Sport, Recreational or Private Pilot certificate)
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The Dudley D. and Delores R. Malone Family Foundation, in memory of Dudley and Delores Malone. An avid recreational pilot and member of AOPA for many decades, Dudley earned his pilot’s license when he was in his 20’s. He was a life-long entrepreneur with a passion for aviation and anything and everything that took to the skies.
Dudley’s wife Delores was his “co-pilot” in the air and in life for 54 years.
Award Summary
$5,000
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Paul Guse in memory of Edward B. Shafer. Ed was renowned in the St. Louis-area general aviation community, serving as a flight instructor for over six decades. A U.S. Air Force veteran, Ed’s enduring commitment to aviation safety was recognized in 2019 with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot award.
As owner and operator of St. Louis Metro-East Airport (Shafer Field), he positively influenced hundreds of new and experienced aviators, generously sharing his knowledge and experience with kindness, patience, and humor.
Award Summary
Multiple; $2,500 and up
Primary certification
(Sport, Recreational or Private Pilot certificate)
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When Glenn Plymate’s wife, Erral, passed away in 2003, he and his family suggested that in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to the AOPA Foundation (at the time, known as the AOPA Air Safety Foundation). Glenn and his family pledged to match these and other contributions, coming together to create the Erral Lea Plymate Memorial Endowment, which now funds several flight training scholarships each year. When Glenn passed away in 2015, his name was added to the endowment.
We are honored to continue their legacy and passion for aviation.
Award Summary
$7,500 each
Private pilot certification or instrument rating
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Corporate Aircraft Association (CAA) in memory of Fred and Diane Fitts. Fred Fitts was a pilot and FBO owner before starting the Corporate Aircraft Association in 1990. Together with his wife, Diane, the couple built the successful fuel and resource purchasing program from scratch. CAA continues to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Part 91 operators by the power of their membership numbers to negotiate the best possible fuel prices.
Designed to help young people get into aviation, CAA hopes these scholarships will allow future generations to fulfill the Fitts’ goal of providing value and quality to others.
Award Summary
Amount varies
Aviation Maintenance Technician Certificate
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This endowment was created in memory of the son of Bruce and Jan Landsberg, Captain Neil C. Landsberg, who was a USAF Special Operations Combat Controller – one of America's finest. Neil led teams into harm's way to serve our country and they lost members on nearly every deployment. This weighed heavily on him and he lost his struggle with Post Traumatic Stress.
Award Summary
Quantity and amount will vary.
Advanced training such as tailwheel, upset recovery, or other advanced ratings.
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The Richard McSpadden Scholarship for Advanced Pilot Training has been funded through contributions from multiple donors in memory of AOPA Air Safety Institute Senior Vice President Richard McSpadden, who died in an aircraft accident on October 1, 2023. Richard’s work at AOPA centered around providing aviation safety education to all pilots in pursuit of a world without fatal general aviation accidents. We are proud to carry on Richard’s legacy by providing resources to make better, safer pilots to advance this goal.
Award Summary
$5,000
Primary certification
(Sport, Recreational or Private Pilot certificate)
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Scott and Jane Stuart via the Imperial Foundation
Award Summary
$250 (multiple awards available)
FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Exam or FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Knowledge Exam
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The State Chamber of Oklahoma is excited to establish this scholarship In honor of Senator Inhofe’s numerous contributions to aviation throughout his career. These awards are available to Oklahoma high school students enrolled in the AOPA Foundation You Can Fly STEM curriculum. The awards cover the testing fee for the FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Exam or FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Knowledge Exam at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center, transportation to the testing center, or additional preparation materials.
We hope this scholarship will help many students in Oklahoma achieve this milestone in pursuing a private pilot or remote pilot certification.
Award Summary
