You Can Fly: Making Dreams Come True

Twenty-three high school students from across the nation will realize their aviation dreams because of the 2017 AOPA You Can Fly High School Flight Training Scholarship Program.

“We are very excited to support these 12 young men and 11 young women’s passion for aviation by helping them pursue their dreams of flight,” said Cindy Hasselbring, AOPA senior director of the High School Aviation Initiative. “This scholarship program is just one way that AOPA’s You Can Fly program is supporting and inspiring the next generation of aviators.”

The $115,000 scholarship program, which is made possible by donations to the AOPA Foundation, is part of the AOPA High School Aviation Initiative that works to create and support high school aviation science, technology, engineering, and math programs, and helps to further career opportunities for the next generation of aviation and aerospace professionals. The scholarships were funded through generous donations to the AOPA Foundation.

YOU CAN FLY

The AOPA High School Aviation Initiative is one of the components of You Can Fly, a program to build the pilot community with initiatives to support flying clubs, encourage best practices in flight training, get lapsed pilots back in the air, bring AOPA's resources and expertise to pilot groups across the country, and help high school students learn about careers in aviation. 

PILOT SPEAK

Cumulogranite
Solid terrain, such as mountains, obscured by clouds, posing a risk to the pilot of an aircraft. Danger, Will Robinson. Do not go here.

George
If you rely on the aircraft auto-pilot, you’re letting George take care of things. Autopilots allow us to focus on the flight, weather, and the airplane’s systems. “George” could be a reference to George DeBeeson, who invented the basic autopilot in 1931; or World War I Royal Air Force pilots referring to England’s King George; or the mnemonic Gyro Operated Guidance Equipment.

JARGON

Five-letter acronyms

These five-letter acronyms are used often in flight planning. But what do they mean?

METAR: Aviation routine weather report. A METAR includes the airport identifier, time of observation, wind, visibility, runway visual range, present weather phenomena, sky conditions, temperature, dew point, and altimeter setting. A METAR is used by pilots as a part of a preflight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting.

Notam: Notice to airmen. Something’s changed in the prescribed way of doing things, in the procedures, at a facility, or in an area that can pose a hazard in the National Airspace System. A notam is a way of saying “watch out” at a particular time and space. They are stored and available until canceled, and can be accessed through flight service or on the FAA’s website.

Pirep: Pilot weather report. Pilots in the air report changes and updates on current weather and share them with other pilots through a pirep.