LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With more pilots retiring, airline and commercial pilot employment is projected to grow 13% over the next decade. Plus, there is still a pilot shortage. However, Flight Club 502 in
Jack DuPlessis, student of Paul Wirkowski, passed his Private Pilot Checkride today with examiner JC Buehler. YAY, Jack!
17-year-old Annika White obtained her private pilot’s license today! Her father, UPS Captain and young eagle volunteer, is Tom White. Her instructor is Paul Wirkowski. Congratulations, Annika!
Eli Lawrence, FC502 Director of Programming and Senior at Male High School, obtained his Private Pilot License Today! His instructor is Natalie Hill. Way to go Eli and Natalie!
Beck Matthews, Senior at Eastern High School, made his first solo flight tonight! His instructor is Meghan Shaefer! Congrats!!!
Pranay Midha, a 17-year-old senior at Manual High School, just soloed! His instructor is Rob Melillo.
Charlie Klap soloed today! His dad is Pilot Sacha Klap. Henry Buckey is his instructor. Congratulations, Charlie!
Let your dreams take flight in our 1969 Cessna 150J, while helping our nonprofit develop the youth leaders for America.
Sam Gardner soloed on Friday, December 3, 2021. His flight instructor is Paul Wirkowski. Congrats Sam!
On November 26th, Flight Club 502 member Chloe Park soloed! Congratulations Chloe! Her instructor is UPS flight intern Mike Ausley.
On October 27, 2021, the Courier Journal wrote a news article about Angelo Ramirez, a Flight Club 502 member. Congrats Angelo!
TEENS ONLY. On November 13th, at 5:30pm, Flight Club will be hosting a balloon glow party!
On November 7, 2021, Flight Club 502 successfully launched Flight Club 859 in Lexington!
Hello! For those of you participating in the Fly-In in Lexington, please remember to fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfm845BGSMo-_Y_XRVwWCJIhdJYkeAOwYKi3vQmEpNYcgGk-w/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0 Thank you so much, and have a great time!
Our 1946 Piper Super Cruiser Raffle has concluded! The winner was Mr. Tim Buck from Maine. Congratulations Tim!
Today, Flight Club 502’s president Charlotte McCarthy earned her wings! Congratulations Charlotte!
David Loring soloed on August 7th. His instructor is Rob Melio, and he is the son of UPS pilot Mark Loring.
Annika White soloed on June 15th, her instructor is Paul Wirkowski and her father is UPS pilot Tom White. Way to go Annika!
One of our founding members and graduating seniors Keaton Jones soloed today! Congratulations Keaton!
Stephen Leonard soloed on Friday, July 9th! His flight instructor was Meghan Schaefer. Congrats Stephen!
Jonas Gordon soloed on July 6th! Jonas is a graduate of Manual High School. His instructor is CFI Henry Buckey. Congrats Jonas!
Gabi McDonald, past president of Flight Club, obtained her private pilots license today! YAY!! Congrats to Gabi and to Captain Jim Yonts who taught her how to fly.
THIS RAFFLE HAS CONCLUDED, WITH OVER 2,261 ENTRANTS. The winner was Mr. Tim Buck from Maine. This is a classic 1946 Piper Super Cruiser (PA-12) with less than 3,000 hours
Eli Lawrence, Senior at Louisville Male HS soloed July 5th! His instructor is Natalie Hill. Congrats Eli!
Stella Campbell, SHA, soloed January 24th! Instructor Parker Andres!! Way to go Stella!
Tyler Klein soloed on Monday, March 22! His instructor is Morgan Rodriguez. Congrats Tyler!
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Quinten Shewmaker, Junior St.X High School obtained his private pilots license today! Quinten is also our director of maintenance. Congratulations Quinten!
Flight Club member August Russ, 20 years old, helicopter pilot and UPS Maintenance Intern program just soloed! His instructor is Natalie Hill. August is offering the Intro to Maintenance workshop for our
Congratulations to Charlotte McCarthy for soloing! Charlotte is a junior at Sacred Heart Academy. Her instructor is Natalie Hill. Yay Charlotte!
Flight Club 502 member Matthew Fortune soloed on August 9th. Matthew goes to St Xavier High School. His instructor is Tara Ryan. Congrats Matthew!
Martha Layne Collins High school senior and Flight Club 502 member Jack Ryan Kelly soloed! His instructor is Meghan Schaefer. Congratulations Jack Ryan!
Flight Club 502 founding member Eloise Eiffler passed earned her Private Pilots License. Eloise is a senior at Sacred Heart Academy. Her flight instructor is Captain Robin Sloan. This year
St Xavier High School junior and Flight Club member, Hayden Guenthner soloed! His instructor is Meghan Schaefer! Congratulations Hayden!
René Banglesdorf came to our new hangar and Flight Club 502 hang out space to listen to a presentation about our club yesterday. René is the CEO and co-founder of
Congratulations to Flight Club 502 founding member and co-president Afton Putney for passing his check ride today! Afton has been flying with his mom and Flight Club mentor, Laura Jones,
Brooks Baker, Flight Club 502 member, and St. Xavier student passed his Private Pilot Check-ride! His instructor was Tara Ryan and JW Lynn gave him his check-ride. Congratulations Brooks!
Flight Club 502 member Colin Heller is now a private pilot! Colin is a sophomore at Eastern Kentucky University. Here he is with his instructor, Jim Yonts, and flight examiner,
Congrats to Evan Myer for achieving his first solo! He’ll be heading to MTSU. Blue skies, Evan!
Congratulations to member Kate Neville for achieving her first solo flight!
As of July 27, founding Flight Club member Sophia Baser is a private pilot! She passed her checkride with examiner JW Lynn. She was introduced to aviation by Flight Club’s
Congratulations to senior member Jimmy Lancaster for passing his private pilot check-ride! Jimmy is a rising senior at St. Francis School and has been a member of FC 502 since
Today Brietta Beisner accomplished her first solo! Brietta’s been a member of Flight Club for almost 4 years. She always wanted to fly; her father often told her stories about
Congrats to Gus Boden, one of Flight Club 502’s founders, for achieving his first solo flight! Gus was introduced to aviation by Flight Club’s own Laura Benson Jones, and he
Congratulations to Parker Ashlock for his first solo flight yesterday! He trained with instructor, Mercedes Hartman. We’re so excited for you, Parker!
Congrats to member Anna Loring for achieving her first solo flight on Saturday! What made the moment even more special: she was soloed by her own father, Flight Club 502
Congratulations to Gabi McDonald for achieving her first solo flight! Gabi joined Flight Club four years ago and currently serves as our marketing co-chair and secretary. She was introduced to
Congrats to Jacob Aaron for passing his check-ride on May 22! Jacob’s been a member of Flight Club for about a year. He fell in love with aviation on an
Stalls…one of the early procedures, dreaded by many, taught before the solo flight. A stall occurs when the aircraft is pitched so high that air can no longer flow over
Hi everyone, we missed seeing our Intro to Aviation class today, and decided to put together a video for our last meeting of the year. Several of our senior members
Flight Club member Aaron Jozwiak has recently completed the first half of his aircraft and power plant mechanic training! He is the first in his family to become involved in
You never know when something will cause you to cancel a flight lesson—weather, plane maintenance, finances, you name it—and it can easily slow your progress. Instead of becoming discouraged, use
In response to recent information regarding coronavirus (COVID-19), we will be cancelling all meetings and flights for the remainder of April. We will reassess after May 1, 2020. Please check
Happy International Women’s Day! Thank you to all the amazing women, especially Laura Benson Jones, that have helped make Flight Club 502 what it is today.
Congratulations to Kai Poepsel for soloing today!!! Kai is a senior at Collegiate and was encouraged to join Flight Club by our president, Henry Putney. He is a volunteer at
Congratulations to Dwayne Johnson for passing his check-ride today and becoming a private pilot! Dwayne is a freshman at Eastern Kentucky University and was introduced to flying through his participation
A huge congratulations to Caroline Schmid for passing her check-ride and becoming a private pilot! Caroline is a senior at Sacred Heart Academy, is a member of the Madrigals and
It’s official, my first solo is now in the books! It has been a long ride, but the wait was worth it. A special thank you to Captain Dean Rice
Calling all young pilots: If you have a story about an event that has changed or shaped how you fly, Air Facts Journal wants to hear from you! Applications are
Hey Flight Club! AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) is accepting applications for their AOPA High School Flight Training Scholarship. 80 selected students will receive a $10,000 scholarship in 2020.
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
The results are in…and the winner of the 2019 Flight Club 502 Piper Super Cruiser Raffle is…Captain Maura Schmid of Louisville, KY!!! Thank you to everyone who participated in this
We are excited to announce that Flight Club 502’s RV-12iS aircraft has successfully completed its first test flight! Thank you to our awesome Adult Build Leaders, Keith Altman and Bruce
Congratulations to Quinten Shewmaker for achieving his first solo flight! He was trained by instructor, Tanner Love. Quinten is a sophomore at St. Xavier High School and plays baseball. He
This Monday, October 14, we received an exciting visit from a delegation of aviation professionals from Oman. The delegation was part of an “Aviation, Air Cargo, and Airport Management” professional
Congratulations to Grant White for accomplishing his first solo flight! Grant is a Junior at Oldham County High School. He is on the maintenance committee for Flight Club and a
We had an amazing time at Bowman Field’s Girls In Aviation Day event! Flight Club spoke to visitors and guided kids in a super fun paper airplane activity. We also
Alice Deters became a private pilot on August 21, 2019. Alice is a sophomore at UVA and has been a Flight Club member since August 2016. Congrats Alice!
As fall is right around the corner, we’d like to wish our senior members good luck as they enter their first year of college or other post-high school endeavors. Be
We’ve got more soloists everyone! Congratulations to Colin, Jimmy, Eloise, Evan, and Brooks for completing their first solo flight this August 11th. Great job, guys!
Dominique Leonard-Curry grew up in Jefferson, Indiana, where she never considered aviation as a career. A family friend, who worked as a UPS pilot, introduced her to the field by
Congratulations to Dwayne Johnson for accomplishing his first solo flight! We’re so proud and happy for him. Next up: pilot’s license!
On July 22, OBAP’s ACE Academy paid a visit to Flight Club 502 to learn about who we are and what we do. Senior members gave campers an informational session
The RV12iS project has been delivered to UPS for its trip to Oshkosh, where it’ll be getting a ride in a brand new $340 million Boeing 747-8F! Due to AirVenture
On July 19, Flight Club 502’s President, Henry Putney, passed his pilot check ride, the last step to attaining his private pilot certificate! We’re so excited for him and can’t
Flight Club 502 has completed its second Aviation Tours and Flight Camp, and it was amazing! They received a look at the Louisville International Airport and the Kentucky Air National
Exciting news, everyone! Flight Club 502 has recently purchased a new Cessna-150 aircraft for pilot training! His name is Bumblebee, and we can’t wait to start flying him as soon
Another week in June, and another great summer camp hosted by Flight Club 502! This week was all about Intro to Aviation. Campers were taught the basics of flying and
Day 2: On Tuesday, the Aviation Tour and Flight Camp was given an inside look at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base! We were escorted to the base’s aircrafts, and
Flight Club 502 was awarded $25,000 from UPS to use towards youth flight training scholarships. Please see the enclosed form to apply.
Summer is officially here, and today Flight Club 502 kicked off our first summer camp of the season! This energetic group had an awesome time during their exclusive tour of
When an obstacle is presented, will you choose to take it head on or allow it to keep you from your goals? That is the question Jessica Cox was faced
Flight Club 502 would like to thank the men and women who have served in our military as well as remember those who have died while fighting for the US.
Happy birthday Afton Putney, and congratulations for successfully accomplishing your first solo flight this morning! We’re so proud of you!
For Flight Club 502’s last Intro to Aviation meeting, we were given the opportunity to meet Colonel Amy M. McGrath-Henderson “Krusty,” the first female Marine to fly on a combat
Thanks to Officer Jason Sattich, a helicopter pilot with the Louisville Metro Police Department, for coming out to Hangar 5 and talking with our students about careers in aviation through
. . . John Yates! Thanks to everyone that purchased a raffle. Your support helped us reach our goal of 600 tickets sold and a plane for Flight Club 502.
With the start of the NewYear, the Club is in the final stretch of its effort to raise funds for the purchase of a small plane to allow members to
