Aviation-Related Awards Range From $1,000 To $2,000

The International Council of Air Shows (ICAS) Foundation has a suggestion for those out there with an aviation bent, but perhaps can't afford to complete their training. The organization is currently accepting scholarship applications from qualified men and women seeking to enhance or expand their flight training... and even their aerobatic skills.

The foundation sponsors several aviation-related scholarships each year that commemorate loved and much-missed members of the air show community. They range in value from $1,000 to $2,000.

Eligible applicants are invited to apply for one or more scholarships. Applications for each scholarship must be submitted on the official application form, which is available from the Foundation’s web site (at the FMI link below.)

Submissions may be made via e-mail or mailed directly to International Council of Air Shows 751 Miller Drive, S.E. Suite F-4 Leesburgh, VA 20175. The deadline for submitting applications is July 1, 2006.

Scholarship recipients are chosen by a panel of family and friends of those for whom the scholarships are named, with winners to be notified by August 10, 2006.

Here are the scholarships available from the Foundation:

• Jan Jones Memorial Scholarship. The Jan Jones Memorial Scholarship provides $1,000 to any female who already holds a private pilot’s license. The funds must be applied towards aerobatic training. Jan Jones was a respected aerobatic pilot who was also loved for her sparkling, energetic personality, her passion for flying, and her willingness to share her knowledge with others. The Jan Jones Memorial Scholarship has been made possible through an endowment from Jan's parents, William and Mary Jones, and other generous donors.
• French Connection Memorial Scholarship. The French Connection Memorial Scholarship provides $1,000 to certified flight instructors and must be applied toward aerobatic training. It is awarded to those in need of financial assistance who wish to teach aerobatics or who wish to improve their teaching skills by acquiring aerobatic training. Daniel Heligoin and Montaine Mallet (right) together formed the French Connection Airshow for over 26 years. Following their deaths, family members, friends and fans worked together to create a memorial fund to give, as Daniel would say, "the gift of wings."
• Charlie Hillard Scholarship. The Charlie Hillard Memorial Scholarship provides $1,000 to further the aviation training of a young man or woman age 18 to 30 who has demonstrated community involvement. Charlie R. Hillard was a fiercely determined man, and throughout his life, built an amazing list of “firsts.” He won four National Aerobatic Championships, was the first American to win the world aerobatic title and became the first skydiver in the U.S. to pass a baton in a free-fall. He led the Eagles Aerobatic Flight Team for more than 25 years, after which he began another amazing career as a solo aerobatic pilot. Throughout his life Charlie was recognized many times for his aerobatic excellence. While he was key to the advancement of precision aerobatics, Charlie also was an enthusiastic contributor and volunteer in his community, particularly devoted to family and children’s causes and organizations.
• Leo Loudenslager Scholarship The Leo Loudenslager Scholarship is a $2,000 stipend given in rotation to an enlisted member of the US Navy Blue Angels, the US Air Force Thunderbirds or the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, to be used toward the cost of flight training. The 2006 applicants must be an enlisted member of the US Navy Blue Angels Jet Demonstration Team. Leo Loudenslager was a US Air Force veteran who became a seven-time winner of the United States Aerobatic Championship, and in 1980, became the World Aerobatic Champion. His aerobatic career got its start in 1964 when Leo was an airman at Travis AFB, California and took leave to attend the Reno Air Races. It was there that he was inspired to become a pilot. Except for ground school training, Leo was entirely self-taught. The Leo Loudenslager scholarship honors Leo's background as a military enlisted man who went on to make aerobatics history.

• Sean DeRosier Memorial Scholarship The Sean Derosier Memorial Scholarship in the amount of is awarded to a young man or woman with a private pilot license who is between the ages of 18 and 31. Applicants must live in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada or Idaho. The scholarship may be used toward aerobatic flight training or schooling toward obtaining an A & P license. Sean was a born aviator who began flying with his parents as soon as he was able to sit in the seat. By the time he was nine years old he was able to land a tailwheel airplane. He soloed in a glider when he was 14 and a power plane at the age of 16. He began teaching himself aerobatics when he was 18, inspired by his lifelong idol, the legendary flying professor, Art Scholl.

• Red Barons Memorial Scholarships Two Red Barons Memorial Scholarships, each valued at $1,000, are awarded to applicants who hold a current private pilot certificate or international equivalent and are sixteen years of age or older. The scholarships must be used toward instruction in tailwheel aircraft operations or aerobatic flight. The Red Baron memorial scholarships honor two pilots, Sonny Lovelace and Randy Drake of the famed Red Baron Squadron. Recipients of the Red Barons Memorial Scholarship will be selected by a committee headed by Kathleen Drake (widow of Randy Drake); Pat Lovelace (widow of Sonny Lovelace) and Red Baron pilots John Bowman and Bryan Regan.

The ICAS Foundation is an organization dedicated to preserving the air show industry's valuable heritage through cataloging and storing of artifacts, articulating the value of air shows and demonstration flying to the public, helping families of those in the air show industry who have been touched by tragedy, and supporting pilots and performers of the future through scholarships.

In addition to the scholarships program, the Foundation sponsors a Hall of Fame program to commemorate those who made a significant contribution to the air show industry. 

FMI: www.icasfoundation.org