2 Vista Ridge Seniors soar into the skies!

Vista Ridge Air Force Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets Brayden and Jack spent the summer earning their Private Pilot Certificates thanks to scholarships from the US Air Force.

“It was a pretty tough program,” says Jack, “but overall, was very rewarding. And I walked with my pilot's license for free, so it was awesome.”

For eight weeks, six days a week, through holidays, rain or shine, these two cadets engaged in rigorous training alongside students from around the United States.

“Two were from Guam, which I thought was pretty cool, learning about Guam. One was a dual Japanese American citizen. We had a lot of people from all over the place.” Brayden continued, “It was pretty cool meeting everyone. They were all driven, motivated and hardworking people.”

The US Air Force has been sponsoring the Private Pilot Scholarship Program since 2018 to inspire interest in flying and increase the overall number of working pilots in the U.S. 

To qualify, cadets must be 17 years old the summer their training starts, complete an Aviation Qualification Test (AQT), have a physical fitness score of at least 75, and have and maintain a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.  

When asked about the application process,  Jack says, “I had to take the AQT. It's like a pilot type of test. They had, like, math and weight and balance stuff on it. It was hard, but I got a good enough score to get in. We had to write an essay and…had to get a letter of recommendation. So it’ kind of a rigorous application process.”

In addition, once accepted into the program, they must then obtain an FAA Student Pilot Certificate and an FAA Class 1 Flight Physical before being assigned a training location.

“Most people take like around a year, eight months somewhere around there,” says Jack, speaking about the process to become a pilot, “So it was pretty tough to do it. And just two months, not even, just eight weeks. It was pretty tough for sure. You know, waking up at 5:00 a.m. every day and flying for like probably three hours a day. So it was definitely tough every single day, but it was very worth it for sure.”

Brayden added, “The toughest part is definitely the stress that comes with the practical tests, because you have to go through multiple stages of your flight training. At the end, there's always a practical test. It's always stressful. Like, getting up to that point, when you're in the sky and you're having to do all these maneuvers, pretty perfectly. There's not much room for error. “

However, the payoff of a private pilot's license is the light at the end of the tunnel.

“When I'm up there, especially when I'm solo flying, it gives me a sense of, like, freedom. You know, I feel like, above the world or on top of the world since I'm so high above. I can see everything looks small. It's just an amazing experience.  It's, like, euphoric, in a way,” says Brayden.

Jack adds, “It's awesome. It's so freeing. Like, just being up there, being able to be above the ground, looking down and just feels amazing. It's awesome.”

The scholarship pays for transportation to and from the training location, room and board, tuition, books and fees.

“My experience, it was, terrific,” says Brayden.”  We went to a new restaurant every night. The budget was pretty generous in that. And it was just, an amazing experience being able to bond with the buddies over there. Overall, it was just a, fantastic experience. And if anyone else has the opportunity within their grasp, I suggest they go for it.” 

“It was just absolutely worth it. Like, it's going to be tough, but it was worth it,” Jack concluded. “Every part of the way, every step was worth it for sure.”