Riley Turk Will Receive $7,500 Towards His Flight Training

A young Hawaiian man with aspirations of being a pilot has been selected to receive $7,500 for flight training through EAA’s Richard Harper Flight Training Scholarship. Riley Turk, a high school senior from Oahu, Hawaii, met the requirement of a minimum 3.8 GPA and wrote an essay describing his passion for flight and ambition for wanting to fly.

Riley (pictured) caught the aviation bug after taking an aerial tour of Oahu in a Cessna 172. Following the flight he spoke with the pilot and came to realize that flight training is accessible to anyone with a willingness to learn. Riley’s love for aviation grew even more when he was given the opportunity to job shadow at Hickam Air Force Base and experienced its multi-million dollar C-17 flight simulator. He wanted to fly a real airplane.

Riley plans to study aeronautical engineering in college, which he feels will be helped significantly by earning a private pilot certificate. Eventually he’d like to work as a test pilot or design more powerful engines, stealthier planes, and top-notch radar.

Riley seeks to continue the legacies of aviation legends such as Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, Chuck Yeager, and Neil Armstrong. He wants to take what he learns in the cockpit and classroom and pass it down to the next generation of pilots. Hearing the roar of an F/A-22 just doesn’t cut it for Riley; he wants to be the pilot.

The scholarship is named for Richard Raymond Harper, a hard-working and kindhearted man who dedicated his life to establishing himself as a pilot. He loved his aviation career and enjoyed mentoring and encouraging young pilots to pursue their dreams.

(Image provided by EAA)

FMI: www.eaa.org