To Be Awarded At Conference Gala Saturday Night

Cessna Aircraft Company has told ANN, for the 11th consecutive year, it will support the Women in Aviation, International (WAI) Conference currently underway at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Walt Disney World, FL. This year, Cessna, a conference sponsor, is awarding two flight training scholarships.

"This is an outstanding opportunity for Cessna to recruit qualified women to help grow our diverse workforce," said Robert Stangarone, vice president of Corporate Communications.

WAI was first conceived in 1990, and formally established in 1994. Its charter is to encourage women to seek opportunities in aviation.

According to the FAA less than six percent of the nation's 700,000 certificated pilots are women, and only slightly more than two percent are ATP rated. Additionally, women account for only 2.13 percent of the more than 540,000 non-pilot aviation jobs in the country.

WAI, a nonprofit organization, hopes to change that. It encourages the advancement of women in all aviation career fields and interests.

Among its 7,000+ membership you'll find astronauts, corporate pilots, maintenance technicians, air traffic controllers, business owners, educators, journalists, flight attendants, high school and university students, air show performers, airport managers and many others.

Cessna will present the two scholarships at the conference gala to be held Saturday night.

The lucky recipient of the first scholarship, valued at $5,000, will receive the training required for a Private Pilot's license.

The second, even luckier, scholarship recipient will earn a type-rating for a Cessna Citation Encore, valued at $18,800 after which he or she will be qualified to fly multiple aircraft in the Citation family.

Cessna is also participating in the WAI Membership Sponsorship Program, which provides 10,600 female private pilots with an annual membership to the organization.

The 2007 event is the 18th annual WAI conference featuring prominent general session speakers, safety and informational seminars, an Inspection Authorization (IA) renewal for maintenance technicians, and an extensive aviation trade show.

WAI estimates approximately 4,000 pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, airport managers, students and aviation enthusiasts will participate in the conference.

FMI: www.cessna.com, www.wai.org