Able Flight - finally FSD in the USA has taken off!
At last FSD has final TAKEN OFF in the States. Charles Stites with the help of his team have started Able Flight in the States modelled on the UK FSD.
Scholarship winners Jessica Cox of Arizona and Paul Brown of Minnesota are Able Flight's two newest licensed pilots.
Some of you may know Jessica Cox's remarkable story, but for those who don't, she is an outstanding example of a person who refuses to be denied the opportunity to fulfill her dreams based on what others may mistakenly have seen as a limitation. Jessica has never accepted that being born without arms should keep her from achieving her goals, including becoming what certainly must be the first person without arms to be certified as a pilot. Just this past Friday, she passed her checkride in an Ercoupe 415-C after training with instructor Parrish Traweek at a small airport to the north of Tucson, AZ. The Ercoupe proved to be the right airplane for her to fly using only her feet (she does not use prosthetic arms), and she had her first experience in training in the classic Ercoupe with owner/instructor Glen Davis of Florida.
But legally she couldn't solo Davis' Ercoupe 415-D as it wasn't classified as Light Sport, and after she was awarded a scholarship she located Traweek who agreed to take her on as a student. With Traweek's help, and her own determination, she mastered the requirements for a Sport Pilot certificate, and after what turned out to be an "extensive and very comprehensive" checkride, she is now the ninth scholarship winner to become a licensed pilot. To congratulate Jessica, you may email her at: admin@rightfooted.com.
Paul Brown comes from a flying family that traces its aviation roots to one of the most famous flights of all time, the crossing of the Atlantic by Charles Lindbergh. Paul's grandfather was working as a lineboy at Curtis Field on Long Island, NY when he was chosen to help prepare Lindbergh's plane on the morning of the historic flight.
Following in the family tradition, Paul was well into his flight training in 2003 when he learned that he would need surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for a large tumor that put his life and his flying dreams on hold. After his recovery, he learned of our scholarship program and applied.
With his Able Flight scholarship, Paul recently completed his training in the Minneapolis area in a Flight Design CT at LSA North, and within hours of passing his checkride, departed for a trip to Oklahoma where he then earned his tailwheel endorsement in a classic Porterfield (an LSA version), and has now completed one of his goals in flying by having his father as one of his first passengers. Reports from his flight school indicate that Paul was one of their most dedicated and hard working students, and he quickly progressed through the training to earn his certificate. To congratulate Paul on his success, you may email him at: Paul.Brown@frontiernet.net .
As with all of our scholarship winners who have earned their certificates, Paul and Jessica have proven that there are no barriers to flight for those who are willing to trade hard work and dedication for the privilege of becoming an aviator.
