An Able Flight Award Winner Built A Specially Designed Zenith 750

The Aerospace Center for Excellence, the educational component of Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In Inc., is excited to announce its partnership with Able Flight, a unique organization that shares a similar belief that learning to fly is a life changing experience. This partnership will enable those with disabilities an opportunity to earn their private pilot’s license in a customized aircraft that meets their physical needs, housing during their training, and instruction from volunteer certified instructors.

The Aerospace Center for Excellence (ACE) is renowned for youth-based educational programs, including a mentoring and scholarship program that has created 91 teenage private pilots. According to Ed Young, Executive Director of ACE, the partnership with Able Flight is synergistic. “Our mission at ACE is to engage, educate and accelerate the next generation of aerospace professionals. Able Flight’s success in engaging and educating individuals with disabilities in flight training is unparalleled. We have the opportunity to truly change lives by combining our core competencies.”

The partnership is also being supported by Zenith Aircraft Co., a designer and manufacturer of aircraft kits. Recently, an Able Flight award winner built a specially designed Zenith 750, with the support of his community. Rick Garcia, president of Gulf Coast Avionics and ACE Board Member, said that “our community in Lakeland has a chance to not only support this noble effort, but to literally come together and build a training airplane that could serve hundreds or thousands of disabled people in the future.”

“The plan is to build the airplane in the Buehler Restoration Center on the ACE campus during the 2019 Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In and with the help of the Lakeland Aero Club, the youth flying club on the ACE campus, after the Fly-In,” Young said. “We are planning to name the aircraft the “Spirit of Lakeland”. This project imbues the nature of the aviation community at the Lakeland Linder International Airport.”

Charles Stites, Executive Director of Able Flight, extolled the partnership’s potential to expand their program. “Our new training partnership with ACE provides an outstanding opportunity to build upon our successful relationships with Purdue University and The Ohio State University. Now with three training locations, and the ability to train almost year round in Florida, Able Flight pilots will benefit from the expertise of the dedicated aviation professionals at the Aerospace Center for Excellence who share our mission of creating a pathway for people with physical disabilities to have equal access to flight training and aviation career training.”

“Lakeland is ideally situated close to the Tampa VA rehabilitation center,” notes ACE and Sun ‘n Fun CEO John “Lites” Leenhouts. “We hope the disabled veterans in our area will apply for the Able Flight Scholarship. While anyone with a disability is eligible for the opportunities Able Flight gives, we are keenly aware of the needs of the nearby former and current service members.”

Able Flight Scholarship students will be housed in the Tom Davis Educational Center on the ACE Campus during training and instructed by volunteer certified flight instructors.

(Image provided with Sun 'n Fun news release)

FMI: www.ACEedu.aero