Wings Over the Rockies™ Awards 26 Flight Training Scholarships to Colorado Students
Scholarship recipients to receive up to $12,000 each for private pilot certification
Denver, CO (August 12, 2024) – Wings Over the Rockies (“WINGS”) announced it has selected 26 Colorado high school students to receive the 2024 Wings’ Flight Training Scholarship. Students will receive up to a $12,000 scholarship—based on flight training experience to date—to be used toward flight training to achieve certification as a private pilot for single-engine airplanes.
The Ray Foundation provides funding for flight training scholarships, which WINGS distributes across Colorado each year to qualifying students age 15-19. To date, WINGS has awarded more than 150 scholarships totaling over $1.3 million since launching the program in 2019. The scholarship helps students seeking their Private Pilot Certification in gliders or single engine airplanes. Scholarship applicants must be Colorado residents and complete their training through a Colorado business.
“We received more than 119 impressive applications for the scholarships. Our future is bright with the up and coming students who want to pursue a career in aviation,” said John L. Barry, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret), President and CEO of WINGS. “We hope to continue to expand this scholarship program in the future and are incredibly grateful to the The Ray Foundation for making this scholarship program available to Colorado’s future pilots.”
All applicants go through a rigorous evaluation and interview process conducted by representatives from WINGS, the Wings Captain Jeppesen Foundation and other partner organizations including Daedalian Flight 18, the Colorado Pilot’s Association and the Colorado Aviation Business Association (CABA). The comittee conducted more than 50 interviews this year. Each scholarship recipient is assigned a mentor to guide them through the training process which includes both flight time and a thorough study regime in order to complete their pilot certification. More information about Wings’ Flight Training Scholarships can be found here.
About Wings Over the Rockies
Wings Over the Rockies™, a Colorado-based non-profit organization and Colorado’s official Air and Space Museum, is committed to educating, inspiring and exciting all people about aviation and space endeavors of the past, present and future. Wings is one organization with two locations. Located in Denver’s historic Lowry neighborhood and established in 1994, the Museum features nearly 100,000 square feet of world-class historical and educational exhibits. In addition to more than 50 impressive aircraft and spacecraft, visitors discover exciting personalities, stories, and events about every aspect of aviation and space exploration. Exploration of Flight is located at Centennial Airport. Opened in 2018, it features 18,000 square feet of interactive experiences, aviation-focused events and actual flying aircraft. Visitors to the two locations come from all 50 states and more than 34 countries. For more information about Wings Over the Rockies, please visit WingsMuseum.org.
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