Scholarship News

As a student at Michigan State University I continued pursuing an aviation career through the MSU Flying Club known as “The Winged Spartans”. Since those days many universities have instituted full time aviation programs to train new generations of commercial and business aviation pilots and aviation managers. With the rising cost of fuel these programs are getting more and more expensive. As a result enrollment in some of these programs is declining, which in time could lead to a shortage of pilots and business aviation professionals.

However, there is some good news. If you are a student at one of the member schools of the University Aviation Association then you are eligible to apply for a scholarship which will be awarded for the 2008-2009 academic year. To find out if your school is a member you can go to the University Aviation Association web site and find out who the members are.

The Alan H. Conklin Business Aviation Management Scholarship is sponsored by Conklin & de Decker, and will award $ 6,375.00 to a student who is officially enrolled in an aviation management program at one of the UAA member schools. Applications must be completed and submitted with all required documents postmarked no later than August 1, 2008.

This scholarship will be awarded to any U.S. citizen or permanent resident without regard to sex, race, religion or national origin. This scholarship is one of several scholarships offered by the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) to promote the professional development of business aviation careers. In 2007 Conklin & de Decker, along with the NBAA, established this scholarship to benefit undergraduates pursuing a career in business aviation management.

For more than 60 years Al Conklin, a U.S. Air Force veteran, was a business aviation leader through his experience as an aircraft salesman early in his career and his later work in proving the economic value of aircraft to businesses. In the 1970s he published the Aircraft Cost Evaluator with Bill de Decker, and later founded Conklin & de Decker, an aviation information company that provides aircraft performance and operating cost data for current and potential business aircraft owners.

To get an application for this scholarship just click on the link to my blog in my author resource box. Until then keep your wings straight and level Hersch!

John M. White is an ATP pilot with several type ratings and over 7,000 hours of flying time. If you are interested in aviation I encourage you to check out my blog at All Things Aviation blog.