Summer Camp Comes to Spartans Home

Tuskegee NEXT, a 501c3 non-profit, has found a host for its Summer Aviation Program at the Illinois Aviation Academy.

The opportunity is aimed at individuals from underprivileged backgrounds from 18 to 20, offering them a free training program to break into the aviation world. The no-cost program has seen the majority of its prior cadets move on to complete a solo flight, with almost just as many obtaining their PPL.

“Illinois Aviation Academy is proud to sit on the Tuskegee Next board and to assist with their summer program as the primary “host” location by providing simulation training, physical fitness training, team/leadership training, and traditional flight training. Cadets will experience the most dynamic learning experience possible,” said Robert Werderich, Executive Vice President of IAA. “We have been able to help nearly all of the TN cadets complete a solo flight and 94% have obtained their FAA Private Pilot certificate.”

Illinois Aviation Academy, a Part 141 school, sees the program as an excellent foil to its community service past, Werderich going so far as to call it "a backbone of IAA from the beginning." The school has contributed to a roster of organizations including The Ninety-Nines, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Explorer Scouts, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Tuskegee NEXT.

FMI: www.spartan.edu