Scholarships & Careers Advice

Do you want to learn to fly?
  • The Air League Educational Trust
GETTING YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN INTO AVIATION

Over the past decade Scholarships worth over £1 million have been allocated to young people across the UK.

The Air League Educational Trust annually awards prestigious flying scholarships, flying bursaries, gliding scholarships and engineering scholarships. Click HERE for full details

Through our many high profile members we can offer some of the best aviation and engineering scholarships in the UK. We look for induviduals that have a flair and passion for aviation and the determination to succeed. 

The Air League Educational Trust is offering flying scholarships to be flown in the summer. The awards are for 12 hours flying instruction. Air Cadets are eligible for a number of special awards. 

Selection will be based on a formal application and, after short-listing, either an interview on aptitude tests and interview at RAF Cranwell or interview at the Trust’s London office around Easter. 

The competition is open to young people permanently resident in the UK who will have reached their 17th but not their 26th birthday on 1 April of the year of interview. 

If you already have a PPL then you can apply for a Bursary. The flying Bursaries offer between 5 and 8 hours of advance flying training. Recent winners have used them to help fund twin, instructors, aerobatics and IMC ratings. Again the application forms are available from the Air League, details as above.

Send your name and address to scholarships@airleague.co.uk for an application form or click here for more details.
  • LAA (Light Aircraft Association) PPL Scholarships
The Armstrong/Isaacs Foundation is based on two major donations from David Armstrong, a very early member of the LAA and the equally eminent John Isaacs, the designer of the Isaacs Fury and 7/10 scale Isaacs Spitfire, both now sadly no longer with us, plus many smaller donations from individuals and Struts. 

The purpose of the Foundation is to provide a Flying Scholarship to the National Private Pilot's Licence on a regular basis to a young member of the LAA.
 
Deadline for applications for the scholarship is end of November and the flying scholarship will be awarded in February.

Click HERE for more information and to apply.
  • BWPA (British Women Pilots Association)

Administered by the Air League, a number of scholarships are available each year to women who wish to learn to fly or improve their skills. Some are open only to women and others are open to both men and women. The BWPA scholarships are :-

Flying Scholarship

The BWPA gives a scholarship annually to a young woman between the ages of 17 and 26 years and is offered for between 12 and 15 hours of flying training towards the award of a National Private Pilot’s Licence. The award is open to young people permanently resident in the United Kingdom who will have reached their seventeenth but not their twenty sixth birthday on the 1st April in the year the scholarship is flown. The Air League administers the scholarship on the Association’s behalf and the application process is open annually from September until the closing date of 31st January. Application forms are available for download from the Air League website, www.airleague.co.uk, or can be requested by emailing scholarships@airleague.co.uk or ringing 020 7222 8463

Flying Bursary

The BWPA gives a bursary annually to a woman who already holds a PPL and is offered for between 5 and 8 hours of advanced flying training. Applicants must be permanently resident in the United Kingdom and there is no age restriction. The Air League administers the bursary on the Association’s behalf and the closing date for applications is the last day of February. Application forms are available from the Air League as above.

In addition, the BWPA gives a year’s free membership of the Association to all scholarship and bursary winners.

  • RAe (Royal Aero Club Trust) Bursaries
The Royal Aero Club Trust, as part of its Flying for Youth program administers a Bursary Scheme for young people.

In 2010, the Trust intends to award one bursary to the value of up to £1000 (The Peter Cruddas Foundation Scholarship), two bursaries to the value of up to £750 and a number of further bursaries worth up to £500, to suitable candidates.

The scheme is divided into two categories of Bursaries:
Flying Bursaries/Grants for those wishing to advance from one recognised level of air sport to the next higher level and wish to upgrade their existing qualifications;FlightSim Bursaries/Grants for Computer Flight Simulation enthusiasts wishing to gain practical experience of flying or an air sport.

The scheme and the bursaries comprise all types of air sports and aviation-related activities including: paragliding, gliding, hang-gliding, parachuting, microlight aircraft, helicopter, fixed wing aircraft and the designing, building and flying model aeroplanes.

Applicants for these grants must hold British Citizenship and be permanently resident in UK and aged 16-21 years.

Click HERE for information
  • GAPAN (Guild of Air Pilots & Air Navigators) PPL Scholarships
These scholarships cover all aspects of training up to licence issue for a candidate who is prepared to dedicate a considerable part of the summer to gaining their PPL.  Providing up to 45 hours of flying, these scholarships can take a candidate with little or no experience, to completion of their flying licence during the course of the summer, alternatively they can "finish off" someone who is already partially trained.  The scholarships are awarded entirely on merit as evidenced on the completed application form (click on the link above to download the form) and as assessed by a selection committee appointed by the Guild.

Interviews will be held in June, at the Guild office in London.

Further information regarding these and other GAPAN scholarships can be found HERE
  • So You Want To Be A Pilot?

Soloflight, the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators and the Royal Aeronautical Society receive many enquiries requesting advice and information about a career as a pilot.

Captain Ralph Kohn, with the help of a committee of very experienced pilots has produced an excellent booklet which covers almost all aspects, from the qualities required of a potential applicant, through the selection process and training for both military and civilian pilots.

Click HERE to download a copy of "So You Want to Be A Pilot." (its a BIG file!)
  • Buy a Flying Gift Card

If you haven't already experienced your first flying lesson, now is your chance! Click HERE
  • Links to Scholarships and Careers Info
Please visit the links below for details of scholarships available. These organisations, others and Soloflight offer free careers advice. The links will take you to external sites and whilst Soloflight provides them for your information, linking to these sites does not mean that we endorse their content or sponsor.

Under 16's learning to fly with Soloflight receive a FREE membership worth £100.

FLYER Flight Training Exhibitions are aimed at all people thinking about a career as a pilot.

The Guild of Air Pilots & Air Navigators            The Air League Educational Trust

                                             

               

                                  
             The Air Cadets
          for 13 - 18 year olds


Institute of Mechanical Engineers - Aerospace Industries


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Answer: Carburetor ice forms as a result of a temperature change induced by the restriction in the venturi of a carburetor. The operating principle of float-type carburetors is based on the airflow through the venturi causing a decrease in air pressure, which draws fuel from the float chamber. When there is sufficient moisture and a significant temperature decrease, ice can form.

  • Scholarship boost towards Pilot Dream

An Air Cadet from Stratford upon Avon has taken her next step towards her dream job with the help of a Flying Scholarship from the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust (RAFCT).
Cadet Sgt Chantal Edwardes, 17, of 1289 Stratford Squadron, has her sights set on becoming a pilot in the RAF; and has moved closer to that goal thanks to one of six Flying Scholarships sponsored by RAFCT last year. The teenager has just completed her training with Tayside Aviation in Dundee and was delighted to go solo mid-way through her course.
Chantal said: “It was great fun. It all goes round so quickly, so it’s only when you land that it hits you what you’ve achieved. I’d flown solo in a glider before but this was very exciting.”
 Her first solo flight lasted 15 minutes and took in one circuit of a planned route, after which she was looking forward to increasing her flying time with more solo flights.
 Chantal added: “I've enjoyed my time here hugely, and I'd like to thank my instructor Steve Murphy for his dedication in teaching me to fly. The scholarship has been a great first step into powered flying."
The Charitable Trust has been involved in grant aid for Flying Scholarships for the past two years, with more than £35,000 being used to sponsor cadets.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Knight, Chairman of the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, said: “The Air Cadet Pilot Scheme aims to give young people a sound foundation in flying, and we’re delighted to be able to help Cadets like Chantal achieve that most important step of a first solo.  It’s good to know that she obviously enjoyed it tremendously.”

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