FAA Administrator Babbitt Will Personally Present Certificates

FAA Administer Randy Babbitt will personally present Private Pilot certificates with Instrument Ratings to the first two cadets from the On Wings of Eagles Foundation flight academy (OWOEF) as part of the National Guard Youth Challenge Foundation's Gala at the JW Marriott hotel on February 23, 2010.

OWOEF is working in partnership with the National Guard Youth Challenge program, and offers scholarships for flight training to selected graduates of the Youth Challenge camps for at-risk youth. Cadets Clarence Wesley Jones and Ryan Armenta graduated with honors from such a camp at Ft. Gordon, Georgia in 2009. Formerly high school dropouts and gang-bangers, these cadets completed their high school education and excelled at the character training and mentoring that was part of the Youth Challenge experience.

FAA Administrator Babbitt

Subsequently they were the first cadets selected for "full ride" scholarships to flight training and since last August they have been flying at Trans-Pac Aviation Academy at Deer Valley Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon completion of their Commercial and Flight Instructor certificates, these trained pilots will then become flight instructors for the next class of OWOEF cadets, set to arrive in the summer of 2010.

On Wings of Eagles Foundation provides at-risk youth with scholarships for aviation training and provides mentors for character development. Their mission is to:

• Create productive citizens for America's future.
• Provide competent workers for aviation industries.
• Influence life pathways toward moral and spiritual excellence.

FMI: www.onwingsofeagles.org