Upwind Summer Scholarship

Scholarship Name:

Upwind Summer Scholarship

Purpose:

The Upwind Summer Scholarship is designed to promote piloting, general aviation, and cultivate interest in aviation as a career by transforming a high school student into a licensed Private Pilot during the summer between their junior and senior year.

The entire program is provided free of charge to successful candidates. This includes:

• Ground school instruction with all necessary materials, books, charts, and basic flight planning tools
• Scheduling and completing the FAA written knowledge test
• Scheduling and completing a Class III medical examination
• Flight instruction with certified instructors
• Mentoring and guidance from other instructors and pilots
• Phase checks at appropriate training milestones
• Check ride with FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE)

Eligibility:

Scholarship Candidates must:

• Be a US citizen or legal resident
• Be a high school student, at least 17 years of age at the time of the checkride (late August)
• Have no criminal record prior to or during the program
• Maintain good grades and academic standing throughout the period
• Attend ground school classes
• Obtain a class III medical examination prior to completing ground school
• Participate in other Upwind activities
• Contribute to a blog detailing his/her progress throughout the program
• Participate in the selection and mentoring of the next year’s candidate

Value:

Undisclosed, but the scholarship includes all training and instruction up to the Private Pilot License

Application Submission Process and Completion Date:

Applications typically become available in January, are due by the end of February, and are announced in March.

Application:

Download the Application (PDF)

History/Background:

The idea for Upwind came from Canada by way of Michael Vowles. Michael, a Canadian, often traveled between the San Francisco Bay Area and British Columbia. He did his flight training at San Carlos, CA and Vancouver, BC, with instructors at each airport who worked together to complete his private pilot training. In late 2012, he brought the idea of a summer scholarship for young people to Dan Dyer, owner of San Carlos Flight Center.

San Carlos Flight Center had opened its doors earlier that year and had begun bringing together pilots, instructors, and aviation enthusiasts from all over the San Francisco Bay Area. The staff and pilots at the Flight Center had an energy and an enthusiasm that had been lacking in general aviation. They tried new things, created new types of pilot events, set high standards for equipment and instruction, and actively sought out ways to share flying with the people of the Peninsula.

It was in that creative environment that Michael and Dan implemented the idea. They quickly brought in pilots Herb Patten and Terry Fiala who formed the core team overseeing the creation of the first Upwind Summer Scholarships in 2013. Under the training of Nariman Farsaie, the first two Upwind Scholarship winners earned their private pilot certificate in August, 2013. In later years, the Upwind management team expanded to include Chris Moropoulos in 2014, and John Zasio and Gretchen Kelly in 2015. Summer aviation scholarships to high school students have been awarded every summer since 2013.

Website:

Upwind Scholarship