Aerospace Center for Excellence Celebrates 100th Scholarship Pilot

Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) has now created 100 teenage Private Pilots through its highly successful flight scholarship initiative. Supported by the James C. Ray Foundation and the SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo, this program began in 2012 with a clear and purposeful mission that has expanded and gained momentum over the past eight years. When Blaise Kessler passed his final checkride on Monday, February 24th, he marked not only a major personal accomplishment, but a landmark event for the program.

“We wanted to create a special opportunity for young men andwomen to learn to fly that otherwise might not have been affordable,” said John“Lites” Leenhouts, ACE President and CEO. “When we rolled out the program, wewere optimistic about the incredible initial response, but we soon realizedthat we had a more meaningful opportunity – we could be an example for otherorganizations to follow. We knew we couldn’t really make a significant impacton the looming pilot shortage by ourselves. By creating a successful processfor awarding scholarships, then mentoring deserving young people through theirprivate pilot training, we defined a groundbreaking path that was not onlyinnovative but could be easily replicated.”

The ACE program currently has over 40 pilots in training andawards up to four new scholarships each month. Recently, under a new extensioncalled “Florida Takes Flight”, the program expanded outside its normal PolkCounty, Florida, boundary. Students in six other Florida counties have receivedscholarships, and the critical mentoring roles were assumed by local sponsorswho recommended each recipient. The sponsors are chapters from the ExperimentalAircraft Association (EAA), Civil Air Patrol (CAP), and The 99’s.

Richele Floyd, Director of Scholarships for ACE, overseesthe administration and guidance of each student’s journey under the program.

“This is a huge milestone in the aerospace industry,” shesaid. “These young adults have not only met the expectations but surpassed themin many ways. They have become active duty military, airline captains, aircraftmaintenance technicians, mentors, students, and boundless aviation enthusiasts.Our programs are not defined by numbers but by the opportunities that areseized. Blaise Kessler not only accomplished a major life goal but was a greatexample of the type of young adult we are trying to foster by overcomingpersonal challenges. I am honored to be a part of this wonderful program andafforded the opportunity to work with these future leaders.”