ABLE FLIGHT'S CHAMPIONS AND PRIZE WINNERS FOR 2009

 

Cindy Ecleberry of South Carolina is one of seven Able Flight Champions for 2009, and is the winner of the grand prize, a Sennheiser HMEC-460 ANR pilot's headset valued at $800. Sharon & Bill Tinkler of Tennessee and Jim Waldron of Maryland tied for second and  each will receive a one year subscription to AirChart Systems VFR Atlas.

gl8p8646 smlr 2 375 x 232Cindy's name will be familiar to regular readers of Able Flight news as she has been the driving force behind the successful fundraising efforts of the East Cooper Pilots Association (ECPA). Over the past two years ECPA has supported wounded veterans in their training through the individual donations of many of its more than 100 members.

(Cindy is seen here with Able Flight Scholarship recipient Ryan Kelly on the left and ECPA President Neal Walsh on the right.)

Also qualifying as Able Flight Champions for 2009 were Able Flight Advisory Board Member Bob Seidel of New Jersey and Charles & Sue Stites of North Carolina.

 

HOW CAN YOU BECOME A CHAMPION FOR  2010?

Just sign up and pledge to raise $500 in 2010 to support the scholarship fund. Not only will you have the satisfaction of knowing that you've made it possible for someone to earn their wings, but at the end of the year, our top fundraisers will receive great prizes donated by some of Able Flight's sponsors.

It's easy to sign up! Just send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the word "Champion" in the subject line, provide your contact informattion and we'll take it from there!

When you meet the goal, we'll move your name to the list of Able Flight Champions, send you a special Able Flight Champion shirt and hat, and you'll be in the running for great end-of-the-year top fundraiser prizes including Sennhesier's best ANR headset, and a one year subscripion to Air Chart Systems VFR Atlas!!

Sign up today to become a Champion in 2010!

 

FROM GOOD SAMARITAN TO DOUBLE AMPUTEE TO PILOT

FLORIDA DEPUTY SHERIFF BECOMES FIRST BOMBARDIER SCHOLARSHIP WINNER

dan hodess 3  200 x 267Deputy Sheriff Dan Hodess was off duty and on his way to work on April 5th, 1998 when he spotted a stranded motorist on I-95 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  He could have passed her by, but chose to pull his cruiser over to help. Moments later, another car hit him pinning him between the two vehicles, and the 61 mph impact instantly cost him both legs. In that moment, Dan went from Good Samaritan to a double amputee whose life was saved only by emergency help from passing medical personnel also on their way to work that morning.

The months following the accident were ones of therapy and adjustment to life with two prosthetic legs.  But with his spirit of never giving in, Dan Hodess has fought to live a normal life. Now, with his scholarship, he has taken on another challenge, that of fulfilling his long-held ambition of becoming a pilot.

 

ABLE FLIGHT SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS TO TRAIN AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY IN 2010

Sky Arrow A-AAble Flight and Purdue University’s Department of Aviation Technology have partnered for a joint flight training project for Summer 2010. Beginning in late May or early June, between two and four Able Flight Scholarship recipients will live in accessible university housing and be trained by university instructors at the Purdue University Airport in West Lafayette, Indiana. The student pilots will  have the opportunity to earn their Sport Pilot certificate in only a month.

Over the next few months, Able Flight will select scholarship winners from its pool of candidates, with priority given to current or incoming Purdue students and other Indiana residents with physical disabilities.

 

JET AVIATION SPONSORS ABLE FLIGHT

FOR FOURTH YEAR

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With a donation of $8000, Jet Aviation Business Jets has continued its sponsorship of Able Flight Scholarships for 2010. The award was presented Tuesday October 20th during the annual NBAA Convention to Charles Stites, Executive Director of Able Flight. Robert Seidel, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Jet Aviation Business Jets, and a member of the Able Flight Advisory Board, made the presentation on behalf of Jet Aviation. Jet Aviation is a founding partner and corporate sponsor of Able Flight, and was the first company to have an Able Flight scholarship in its name.

“With our industry’s renewed focus on the fundamentals of business aviation, and the recent tough economic challenges it has faced, it is important to remember that serious challenges of another kind are faced every day by people with disabilities,” said Seidel, “At Jet Aviation, we hope we can help remove some of these obstacles, and in 2010, allow some of them to achieve new, meaningful goals through flight. We are proud to be associated with them.”

"From the beginning, our partnership with Jet Aviation has enabled people with spinal cord injuries, disabilities caused by birth defects, and wounded and disabled veterans to use the challenge of becoming a pilot to profoundly change their lives," said Stites. “With their support for 2010, Jet Aviation has once again shown its commitment to our unique mission, and we are honored to continue this valued partnership.”  (Photo: (L-R Charles Stites & Bob Seidel)

 

AIR FORCE PILOT RETURNS TO FLIGHT WITH ABLE FLIGHT SCHOLARSHIP

C-17 Pilot  Major Tom Marquardt Flying Again After Loss of Leg

 

tom-m-portrait-vert-lrIt may have been one of the smallest aircraft he has flown, and off a runway far shorter than those at McGuire AFB, but  Major Tom Marquardt's return to the pilot's seat on September 19th was a milestone in his more than 20 year career as a military and airline pilot. It was the day that he returned to flying after the loss of his right leg. For a man who has flown huge C-17's into both Iraq and Afghanistan,  and B-757s and 767s internationally, the small Sky Arrow LSA  offered him the chance for a huge step  towards his goal of returning to the cockpit of an airliner.

Marquardt says of his first flight as a pilot since 2007, "Getting back at the controls and flying hands-on gave me the same exhilarating feeling I had the very first time and every flight since. Some people may take that for granted, but once you have been unable to do something you love for reasons beyond your control, it gives you a new perspective."

 

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ABLE FLIGHT IS LOOKING FOR CHAMPIONS...

PEOPLE WHO WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE

You can become an Able Flight Champion and help make it possible for someone with a disability to become a pilot. How does it work? It's easy; just raise $500 or more for the Able Flight Scholarship Fund in a year. Able Flight Champions will be listed on our new "Champions" web page, where  you'll also find fund raising success stories and tips on how to make it easy and fun to  bring  the challenge and freedom of flight to deserving and inspiring people. And you'll have the chance to win great prizes donated by our sponsors!

 

NEW PILOTS RECEIVE WINGS

AT EAA AIRVENTURE

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Pilots Jessica Cox, Jeremy Maddox and Mal Zackery received their hard-earned Able Flight Wings in a special ceremony in AeroShell Square at EAA AirVenture 2009. There to honor them were airshow great and Red Bull Air Racer Michael Goulian, Miles O'Brien, and Patty Wagstaff, three-time national aerobatic champion and member of the Aviation Hall of Fame.

An enthusiastic crowd was on hand to witness the culmination of the pilots' dedication to meeting the challenge of learning to fly. Special guests included previous scholarship winners Jessica Scharle, Sean O'Donnell and Kirk Fjetland, along with 101 year-old pilot Captain Joe Grant and representatives of Able Flight sponsors and supporters.

2009ableflightwings006 lrMal Zackery was honored as Able Flight's newest pilot with an introduction by Michael Goulian. Less than two years after becoming paralyzed while shot by a robber, Mal earned his pilot certificate by training with instructor Matt Hansen of Hansen Air Group. Mal's scholarship was made possible by a generous grant from the TBM Owners Pilots Association Foundation.

Jessica Cox of Tucson, AZ had her wings pinned by Patty Wagstaff. Jessica2009ableflightwings017 lr was trained by instructor Parrish Traweek who was on hand for the ceremony. Learning to fly in Traweek's Ercoupe 415-C, Jessica has become the only person to be licensed while flying only with her feet.

2009ableflightwings011 lrJeremy Maddox can add licensed pilot to his accomplishments. After soloing in only 11 hours, Jeremy earned his Sport Pilot certificate in a total of 37 hours. Miles O'Brien, pilot and former technology correspondent for CNN presented Jeremy with his wings.

Special guests included Bob Stangerone of Cessna, Tom Evernham of TBMOPA, Jim Irwin  and Desiree Czaplinski of Aircraft Spruce, and 101 year-old pilot Captain Joe Grant.

 

Click here to see a short Aero-TV Network video of the ceremony.

Photos Courtesy of Elizabeth Pratt

 

MAL ZACKERY OF GEORGIA EARNS LICENSE

m-zackery-sky-arrow-lrsmLess than two years after becoming paralyzed, Mallory "Mal" Zackery of Georgia has become Able Flight's 12th scholarship recipient to earn a pilot certificate.  With support from the TBM Owners Pilots Association Foundation, the 29 year-old trained in an adapted Sky Arrow 600 LSA with Matt Hansen of Hansen Air Group in Kennesaw, Georgia.

In October of 2007, Mal was a district manager for a chain of  stores and was making a night deposit when he was shot by a robber. The 2003 graduate of Mercer University was treated first in Alabama, and then at Shepherd Center  near his Atlanta-area home. In his scholarship application  essay, he wrote: "I heard of the Able Flight Scholarships when I was an inpatient at Shepherd Center, at a time when I was both physically and mentally down. It was as if a world of possibilities opened up to me.

 

ABLE FLIGHT PILOTS SET TRANSCONTINENTAL SPEED RECORD!!

On June 8th, pilots Matt Hansen and Jessica Scharle set a record for a transcontinental flight in a Light Sport Airplane (LSA)  by flying lsa-record-1-sm-webfrom Jacksonville, FL to El Cajon, CA within a single day. Departing Cecil Field at 6:01 AM EDT, they made five stops along the way and touched down at Gillespie Field near San Diego at 10:22 PM PDT for an elapsed time of 19 hours and 21 minutes, including time for fuel stops. Total flying time was 17 hours plus.

 

rob-in-plane-crop-lrROB LAURENT BECOMES SECOND WOUNDED VETERAN TO EARN LICENSE WITH ABLE FLIGHT SCHOLARSHIP

Saturday May 16,  2009 is a day that Rob Laurent will never forget. It was the day that he passed his check ride  to become Able Flight's eleventh licensed pilot, and the second  wounded veteran to earn his pilot certificate with a scholarship.