For DonorsFor Applicants

KG Aviation Scholarship

Funded by
$1,000
1 winner$1,000
Open
Application Deadline
Jan 3, 2025
Winners Announced
Feb 3, 2025
Education Level
High School, Undergraduate

A pilot shortage is upon us and we need new pilots replacing those retiring in the future. 

Today, pilot training is very expensive and many prospective pilots must pay out of pocket to fund their aviation education. The sky's the limit for many pilots, but in order to reach their goals, they must be supported throughout their educational adventure.

To suppress the pilot shortage we are seeing today and to help budding pilots achieve their dreams, the KG Aviation Scholarship will be awarded to one student currently pursuing a Private Pilot Certificate or Commercial Pilot Certificate.

All current high school and undergraduate students are eligible to apply for this scholarship. To apply, please write an essay or submit a video about why you decided to pursue a career in aviation.

Selection Criteria:
Essay, Ambition, Purpose
Published October 1, 2024
Essay Topic

Please submit EITHER an essay or a video that answers the following questions.


(50-75 words): What current Certificates do you have? How many hours do you currently have?


(400-500 words) Why did you decide to choose a career in aviation? What do you hope to achieve in your career? Why is aviation important to you?

0–600 words

Winning Application

Casey Raymond
University of Maine at AugustaParis, ME
I am a student pilot that is pursuing my Private Pilot's License. I have passed my knowledge test, and have around 40 hours of flight time. I have already soloed, and am currently working on navigation and night flight. I chose aviation because I love flying. I love the feeling of being up in the air, and when I am flying, I feel like it is the best moment of my life. Growing up, I always loved planes, but never thought of being a pilot as a career choice. I am the first to pursue aviation in my family, so there were no people that I could look up to in my childhood who were pilots. I never saw it as a possible career, after all, it was for the rich and powerful to do. At least, that's what I thought until I was randomly signed up for a workshop about aviation for girls at my high school. I mainly said yes to it because they said it was a cool opportunity, and it sounded more interesting than going to my Latin class that day. I enjoyed the workshop a lot. We built little gliders, launched them out of the second story windows, and I had a lot of fun The real thing that intrigued me in this workshop was when the presenter started talking about the student pilots. He talked about how he was an instructor for a program at a university, and how he was teaching real people how to fly. Not rich people, not famous people, but just normal people like you and me. He talked about these people who were actually learning how to fly, and becoming pilots. What surprised me the most was when he revealed how old they were. Most of them were 5 or so years older than I was at the time. This revelation that people were actually learning how to fly changed my life. That night, I raced to my computer and started to do some research. The cost shocked me, but I knew right away that this was what I wanted to do. I found the flight school online that the instructor had mentioned, then went to go visit it about a week later. I went on an introductory flight, and I was immediately sure this was where I was meant to be. I had previously been pursuing engineering, but never really enjoyed it. I was just good at it, so I thought that was what I was meant to do. After that flight, I couldn't think of any other future except for flying, and I was determined to let nothing stand in my way. After high school, I want to go to the program at the university I mentioned. The program gets you your instrument, commercial, and flight instructor i and ii licenses. I have been taking college level classes from the course of study for the program throughout last year and this year, so I can hopefully graduate from the 4 year program in 3 years. After that, I would most likely find work as a flight instructor, to get my hours up, and to also teach other people the joy I found in flying. I've always wanted to follow in my mom's footsteps, who's a teacher but I hate trying to teach little kids. I love teaching people around me though, and I think my passion for aviation will translate well into teaching others. If I like flight instructing, I would stay instructing, but if the opportunity arises, I would probably go into corporate or the airlines.

FAQ

When is the scholarship application deadline?

The application deadline is Jan 3, 2025. Winners will be announced on Feb 3, 2025.