ABLE FLIGHT SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS TO TRAIN AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY IN 2010

UPDATE MARCH 2ND 2010...APPLICATIONS STILL BEING ACCEPTED!

Able 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.

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.

Cindy'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!

JET AVIATION SPONSORS ABLE FLIGHT

FOR FOURTH YEAR

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

It 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."

NEW PILOTS RECEIVE WINGS

AT EAA AIRVENTURE

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.

Mal 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. Jessica 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.

Jeremy 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

Less 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 8^th, pilots Matt Hansen and Jessica Scharle set a record for a transcontinental flight in a Light Sport Airplane (LSA)  by flying from 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 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.