Combining the training experience of a major university flight school, and the unique mission of an aviation nonprofit for people with physical disabilities, Able Flight and Southern Illinois University Carbondale will partner on a joint flight training project beginning this year. In May, five Able Flight Scholarship recipients will arrive at the SIU Carbondale campus, where they will stay in university housing and be trained at Southern Illinois Airport by SIU Aviation instructors during an intensive flight training program as they earn their Sport Pilot Certificates.

Able Flight will select scholarship recipients for training at SIU Carbondale from its pool of candidates and will provide two specially adapted Vashon Ranger Light Sport Aircraft in which the student pilots will learn to fly. SIU instructors will receive factory-provided transitional training in the Ranger. At the conclusion of the 2024 training session, Able Flight and SIU will evaluate the program’s success to build upon it in future years.

Housed in the Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center, one of the top facilities in the country, SIU Aviation is part of the College of Health and Human Sciences.

“SIU Carbondale has a long and proud history of accessibility for people with disabilities, so we are very excited about our partnership with Able Flight, which shares our values of providing opportunities,” said Robert D. Morgan, CHHS dean. “This collaboration allows us to further develop much-needed pilots for the aviation workforce and to ensure a rich learning environment for our students. We are grateful to Able Flight for supporting students with specialized aircraft and scholarships, and we look forward to Able Flight Scholars joining the Saluki family.”

Morgan added that the agreement fits in well with the university’s Imagine 2030 strategic plan and its pillars addressing partnerships and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Able Flight Executive Director Charles Stites said, “We’re excited to work with Southern Illinois University to create this opportunity for our scholarship recipients. SIU has an outstanding nationally recognized aviation program and world class facilities, and they have whole-heartedly welcomed Able Flight. During their time there, our scholarship recipients will be immersed in flying in a demanding but supportive setting and have the chance to explore opportunities for future undergraduate and graduate degrees in aviation.”

The flight training program will begin in late May and will expand on Able Flight’s long-term partnership at Purdue University which will also take place again this year.

The members of the “Class of 2024” are Ian Azeredo of New Jersey, Andrew Daigneau of Indiana, Jake Simmons of Pennsylvania, Natallia Mirashnichenka of New York, Omar Duran of Florida, Susan Baldwin of Arizona, Jacob Robinson of North Carolina, Jordan Sprague of Indiana, Tim Riney of Florida and Tyler Pugeda of California. Four of this year’s scholarship recipients are veterans, and two are women.

The new student pilots have already received their online ground school course courtesy of Sporty’s Pilot Shop, and over the next three months they’ll prepare for their written exam with the assistance of a live remote instructor from one of the training locations. Once they arrive at the university and check into their dorm, they’ll have one day to settle in before attending orientation. As soon as their second day, they’ll begin six-seven weeks of daily flights in adapted training aircraft to prepare them for their early July check ride.

Ian Azeredo of New Jersey was already well engaged in aviation when a skydiving accident on July 4th, 2019 nearly cost him his life.  But Azeredo not only survived, he pushed through recovery and rehabilitation to return to work where he is now the company’s chief engineer.

In 2021, he was awarded a Career Training Scholarship from Able Flight and earned a Light Sport Repairman Certificate and soon after he purchased an Ercoupe 415C project plane. Now, with a flight training scholarship from Able Flight, Ian will be a licensed pilot just before he completes the total restoration of his Ercoupe. [Read more…] about ANNOUNCING OUR LARGEST CLASS EVER

There is big news on the horizon for Able Flight. For over a year we have been working on two major initiatives to build a long term future for our unique and successful program. Now we can provide you with an exciting update.

MAJOR INITIATIVE #1

It’s been obvious that there is a compelling need for additional adapted aircraft in which people with a disability can train. So, over the years, Able Flight has (shall we say) strongly encouraged manufacturers to offer the option of adapted hand controls for use by pilots without full use of their legs and feet.

Now we are well into a collaborative project with Vashon Aircraft to create a set of controls for their Ranger. That project is being led by engineer and pilot Clayton Smeltz, the owner of a Cirrus Vision Jet that he adapted for his own use. Due to lower limb paralysis, Clayton cannot use the standard rudder and brake controls, so he came up with his own version and gained approval by the FAA.

For months Clayton has been working with the engineering staff at Vashon. Prototyping, testing and approvals for add on controls for the Ranger are projected for 1st quarter 2024, just in time for the new controls to be used beginning next May. And that leads us to our second major initiative. [Read more…] about Exciting News For Able Flight