OSCODA – OYES, LLC is pleased to announce that it has selected Kierstin Muckenthaler of Twining to receive the first-ever full Jon Sheer Memorial Flight Scholarship on Sept. 17.
The total value of the scholarship package is estimated at approximately $22,000 and it is possible for a scholarship recipient to achieve both their Private Pilot Airplane Certificate and Instrument Airplane Rating during the year if they desire. The scholarship also pays for flight test fees, which average $800 per examination.
Full Jon Sheer Memorial Flight scholarships can be awarded to young men and women who are members of Scouting America and have reached 16½ years of age but have not yet reached 21 years of age. To qualify, applicants must complete a full summer in the Scout Aviation Maintenance Experience (SAME), which operates for seven weeks every summer at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Community Airport and receive good recommendations from the technicians who teach at SAME.
Applicants must then receive a Student Pilot Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), pass a Class 3 Aviation Medical Examination and pass the FAA Written Examination for Private Pilot, Airplane. They then apply for the full Jon Sheer Memorial Flight Scholarship and, if successful, are assigned to an aircraft and instructor which they get to operate and receive instruction from for free for 12 consecutive calendar months at Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport.
Muckenthaler is a member of Scouting America’s Venturing Crew 7 chartered to Oscoda American Legion Post 274. The Crew meets every other Sunday evening at Hope St. John’s Church along Mill Street in AuSable Township next to the Lake Huron beach. She is currently a sophomore at the Michigan Technical University in Houghton and is majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in aeronautical engineering.
OYES, LLC also awards partial Jon Sheer Memorial scholarships to full time students attending the United States Air Force Academy or Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. Cadet Joelle Lee of the United States Air Force Academy earned her Private Pilot Certificate with a partial scholarship on Jan. 15. Cadet Keeley DiSiena of AFROTC Detachment 157 at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University earned her Private Pilot Certificate on July 22.
Partial scholarships are valued at approximately $11,000. Instruction is received at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport but once approved for solo operations, scholarship recipients may take their flight tests anywhere they like. Cadet Lee checked in Maryland and Cadet DiSiena checked in Pennsylvania.
People interested in Jon Scheer Memorial Flight scholarships should attend a Scouting America Venturing Crew 7 meeting for more information.
Children aged nine thru 17 interested in flight may arrange for a free Young Eagle Flight in a general aviation aircraft at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport by contacting EAA Vintage Chapter 43 at 937-212-8435.