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One of those highly successful programs for teenagers has\nbeen around for 27 years. Known as FLIGHT (Flight Lesson Instructional Grants\nHelping Teens) Foundation, the organization has received many accolades and\nbeen supported by grants over the past 21 years, since its incorporation as a\n501c3 in 1998. The most significant grant has been from the Tennessee\nAeronautics Division from 2000-2018 at an average annual grant of just under\n$32,000 a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
TDOT Aeronautics is proud of the support the department has\nbeen able to provide to the FLIGHT Foundation over the years, and according to John\nBriggs, Assistant Director for the Division, the FLIGHT Foundation does much\ngreat work promoting aviation to young people, particularly in underserved\nareas of east Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Current donors to FLIGHT include Scott Niswonger, FedEx\nCorporation, and the Ray Foundation. With this outstanding support, the program\nreceived recognition from the National Aviation Hall-of-Fame in 2010 as Lt. Colonel\nBill Powley, the founder of FLIGHT Foundation and Flight Instructor, received\nthe A. Scott Crossfield award as the top aerospace science instructor in the\nnation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2013, Col. Powley, a retired Air Force fighter pilot with\n347 combat missions in Vietnam in the F-4 and A-7, was inducted into the\nTennessee Aviation Hall-of-Fame for his FLIGHT Foundation program. To date, the\nprogram has flown over 10,900 students on orientation flights from more than 30\nschools; soloed 198 students from 26 high schools, home-schooled, six\ncolleges\/vocational schools and had 17 private pilots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, TDOT Aeronautics revised the Education and Outreach\nProgram and advertised the grant program to STEM schools across Tennessee, and\naccording to Briggs, the goal was for more students to participate in\neducational programs that would influence their future pursuit of aviation\neducation and\/or an aviation career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2018, we received 22 applications from educational\ninstitutions wanting to educate students in the field of aviation,\u201d said Briggs.\n\u201cIn the past two years, the Education and Outreach Program has become very\ncompetitive. This means more students have an opportunity to explore aviation\nin Tennessee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As with every program where the needs exceed the available\nresources, Briggs confirmed that difficult choices must be made in order to\nachieve a responsible and equitable distribution of State funds. Due to the\ncompetitiveness of the program and the limited $200,000 annual budget, not\neveryone received State funding in 2019 or 2020. However, Briggs said, everyone\nremains a valued advocate for aviation in Tennessee.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert \u201cBob\u201d Woods, former Aviation Director for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and someone who has spent his career in the aviation industry, shared “that it is not so much the number of private pilots that actually result, it\u2019s the number of current and future Americans that have and will gain an appreciation and knowledge of what and how much general aviation contributes and does in this great country.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n The FLIGHT Foundation was established in Tennessee for\nstudents of all ages. The non-profit chartered foundation was formed to provide\nfunding to ensure the continuance of an already proven and established\naerospace education program in Air Force Junior ROTC at Unicoi County High\nSchool. In 2002 the program moved to Sullivan County, and in 2018 relocated to\nGreene County. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 1998, the first solo cadet went to the Air Force Academy\n(USAFA), and since then a total of eight solo students have received\nappointments to USAFA and three to West Point. Twelve solo students have\nenrolled in the flight program at Middle Tennessee State University as\nprofessional pilots and one at Purdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/FLIGHT.jpg\")
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