Well, that’s a wrap on 2019! It’s been a great year for Flight Club 502—full of amazing opportunities and achievements. Here’s a recap of some of our highlights.
We welcomed many new students into the Flight Club family this year in the Intro to Aviation course. We also said goodbye to multiple members this fall, as they took on their first year of college.
We had the opportunity to meet many great people this year: officer Jason Sattich of LMPD, Colonel Amy McGrath, and delegates from Oman. It has been an honor to welcome them and learn about their careers in aviation. We even got the chance to share our mission with Ken Hoke on WDRB news and Terry Meiners on 840 WHAS radio!
We have acquired two new aircrafts to accommodate our student members: Cessna 150 (Bumblebee) and a Cessna 172 that we have recently been allowed to use for training. Thank you to Roger Quinn for loaning your 172 for our use! We are also grateful to have received a generous grant of $25,000 from UPS, which has helped support multiple students in their flight training through scholarships. This summer, our RV-12 Build Project was transported in UPS’ new Boeing 747 to Wisconsin to be displayed at the 2019 EAA Airventure Oshkosh. There, we were able to share our project with thousands of aviators from all over the country. The RV-12iS has since been completed, and on December 12 UPS pilot Dave Schmitz performed the aircraft’s first test flight!
During the summer, we hosted five successful camps: Introduction to Aviation Camp, two Aviation Tours and Flight Camps, Advanced Flight Camp, and Private Pilot Written Exam Class. In the Aviation Tours and Flight Camp, students received behind-the-scenes tours of Louisville International Airport, UPS, Kentucky Air National Guard, and the Bowman Field tower! In July, senior club members also spoke to campers of OBAP’s ACE Academy about their experience and gave a tour of the hangar. It was awesome meeting them and their pilot mentors!
Eleven students have achieved their first solo flights this year. Congratulations to Dwayne Johnson, Evan Meyers, Afton Putney, Eloise Eifler, Theron Varda, Jimmy Lancaster, Colin Heller, Jamie Ashlock, Max Bergman, Grant White, and Quinten Shewmaker! Another big congrats to Henry Putney, Alice Deters and Mike Gabski who passed their check-rides and achieved their private pilot’s licenses! We’re so proud of all of you!
A 1946 Piper Super Cruiser was generously donated to the club by Dr. Gerry Mitchell, Susan Mitchell and Peyton Hoge. Recently, we hosted an online raffle for a chance to win this beautiful aircraft or a $15,000 cash prize. In two months, we were able to raise $80,00–a great way to end the year! On December 17th, we hosted a drawing party to celebrate, and the winner drawn was Captain Maura Schmid of Louisville, KY! Thanks to everyone who purchased a ticket and donated, more members will receive the opportunity to achieve their aviation goals and progress in training.
This year could not have been so amazing without the time donated from our wonderful volunteers, mentors, and members as well as generous donations and support. We are very grateful for the many opportunities we’ve received this year, and we can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store. Happy New Year everyone!