High school students earn scholarships to fly
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
The Aspen Flight Academy, in partnership with Atlantic Aviation, the operator of the Aspen fixed-based operation, awarded a total of $100,000 in scholarships to 11 Roaring Fork Valley high-school students to learn to fly and obtain their private pilot’s licenses.
Atlantic Aviation has been a supporter of the Aspen Flight Academy since 2014 and announced the new scholarship program in October 2022. The academy’s goal is to be inclusive, and 40% of their students are female.
“Aspen Flight Academy has over 100 high-school students in the program and operates three new airplanes. Three top graduates from Purdue are teaching and training our high-school students how to become private pilots,” said Jeff Posey, president of Aspen Flight Academy and a pilot for over 30 years. “We are one of the top high-school flight academies in the U.S. and hope to continue our growth by partnering with companies like Atlantic Aviation.”
Atlantic Aviation Aspen FBO Manager Jonathan Jones noted, “We’re very proud to partner with Aspen Flight Academy to help grow our future aviators.”
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
“It is an amazing time to become a professional pilot,” said Mike Pearce, chairman of the Board of the Aspen Flight Academy and an American Airlines 777 captain. “The industry is projected to need tens of thousands of pilots in the next decade. Aspen Flight Academy is proud to help students become the next generation of aviation professionals.”
Students receiving the scholarships at a presentation on Tuesday are the following:
- Zoe Laird – Glenwood Springs High School
- William Haneman – Aspen High School
- Fiona Benvenuto – Aspen High School
- Saffron DeBacker – Aspen High School
- Arielle Washburn Aspen High School
- Aiden Knight – Aspen High School
- Gabriel Serson – Roaring Fork High School
- Seona (Paz) Miranda – Roaring Fork High School
- Haven Keery – Roaring Fork High School
- Colin Luu – Aspen High School
- Keyton Young – Aspen High School
“Thank you to our sponsors who are leading the way in shaping America’s future aviation leaders!” noted Pearce.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Local 14 year old writes young adult novels
Nyala Honey has done more in her 14 years on this earth than many people accomplish in decades. The 14-year-old Basalt resident has published two young adult novels, which she’ll talk about and read from at Explore Booksellers at 2 p.m. on June 8.
