Staff Report
Flight training scholarship applications are now available for Santa Barbara County students ages 14 to 17 years old through the Santa Ynez Valley Airport’s “Airport Day” scholarship program. The deadline to apply is May 3.
For the past six years, with contributions and grants from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, the Santa Ynez Valley Airport Authority (SVYAA), and the Santa Ynez Valley Rotary Club, local students have received scholarships allowing them to experience the first several hours of learning to fly with a certified flight instructor at Santa Ynez Valley Airport.
The scholarship will provide funds for flight instructor and aircraft rental.
One of the three students who were awarded the flight training scholarship at the 2018 Airport Day, Ryan Casey, has now soloed in a Cessna 172. His accomplishment was seen by more than a quarter-million pilots and aircraft owners through the AOPA e-brief newsletter.
The scholarship is administered by the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Chapter 491, through the nonprofit educational mission of the SYVAA.
Airport Day scholarships will be awarded at Airport Day on Saturday, May 18, at Santa Ynez Valley Airport.
Applications and instructions are available for pickup at the Santa Ynez Valley Airport office and on the web at www.eaa491.org/scholarship or at www.santaynezairport.com/scholarship.
For more information, email Robert “Captain Bob” Perry at CaptainBobsPlaneTalk@gmail.com.
