The seven members of Able Flight’s “Class of 2023” were pinned with their pilot’s wings at a ceremony on July 25th at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. They were honored after months of study that concluded in them passing their check rides after training both online and then in-person for six weeks at Purdue University.

Receiving their pilot wings were Tyler Cernik of Michigan, Bobby Dove of Alabama, Melvin Du of Colorado, Leslie Irby of Georgia, Andrew Kurka of Alaska, Dijon McCorkle of Mississippi and William Scheremet of Minnesota.

Also honored at the ceremony were Volunteer of the Year Amalia Yoandies and Flight Instructor of the Year Cameron Sansone. Presenting those awards were Able Flight supporters Bob Seidel and Aviation Hall of Fame member, Patty Wagstaff.

In a special announcement this year it was revealed that Cirrus Aircraft has now signed on to sponsor a scholarship for an Able Flight pilot for the next three years.

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With weeks of daily flights (sometimes two a day) behind them, all seven of the members of the Able Flight “Class of 2023” passed their check rides and are now licensed pilots. They will be honored at Able Flight’s annual Wings Pinning Ceremony at EAA AirVenture on Tuesday, July 25th at 10am at Theater In The Woods.

All together the new pilots logged over 300 hours in the air and more than that on the ground between late May and early July at Purdue University. Beginning in the cooler weather of Spring and finishing in the hot and hazy days of Summer, Melvin Du, Tyler Cernik, Dijon McCorkle, Bobby Dove and William Scheremet went from zero hours to licensed Sport Pilots, and Leslie Irby added her Private Pilot Certificate to the Sport Pilot Certificate she earned through Able Flight in 2019.

A special thanks to Lead Instructor Amalia Yoanides and instructors Nic Shelton, Hallie Miller and Cameron Sansone along with the support and maintenance staff at Purdue.

In just a few months, Able Flight’s “Class of 2023” will arrive at Purdue University to begin training.  But for everyone selected, their journey to taking part in this unique program began much earlier.

Every year, people with a physical disability who dream of becoming a pilot through Able Flight’s scholarship program carefully assemble and submit their applications. Then they wait for the scholarship committee to do their work of reviewing and ranking the applications. For a selected few, interviews are scheduled and conducted before it is determined which applicants will have their lives changed forever through intensive and demanding training. [Read more…] about Able Flight Class of 2023