FBO Titan Walks the Walk 

Clay Lacy Aviation—the FBO and business aircraft management, maintenance, and air-charter titan founded on the Van Nuys Airport (VNY) in 1968 by former airline pilot, military aviator, experimental test pilot, air race champion Hershel Clay Lacy—has bolstered its commitment to general aviation’s future.

They've done this by funding pilot, aerospace maintenance, and aeronautics technology scholarships at school districts in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa, California; Hartford, as well as Connecticut’s Aerotech School; Flushing, New York’s Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology; and the Gold Stars to Blue Skies program, which helps the children of fallen U.S. Marines earn their FAA Private Pilot Certificates.

Clay Lacy has anted-up a tremendously generous $500,000 in scholarship funding, thereby making manifest both its largess and dedication to the upcoming generation of aerospace professionals.

All told, the 55-year-old FBO concern—in addition to $225,000 in scholarships the company has granted since 2015—has pledged $281,000 to students through new scholarships.

Clay Lacy senior vice-president of development and sustainability Scott Cutshall stated: “We are committed to helping talented individuals discover and thrive in this vital industry. Aviation professionals build rewarding lives for themselves and their families, and it’s crucial that leaders in the industry are able to support them in realizing their professional goals and career dreams.”

By investing in the individuals of whom the aerospace industry’s professional pipeline consists, Clay Lacy helps create economic opportunity and growth within the cities the storied FBO chain serves. In areas such as Oxford, where scholarship recipients are in close proximity to Clay Lacy facilities, the company engages in mentoring students, including on-site shadowing of employees and hands-on training.

The announced scholarships include:

• Mechanic scholarships at Los Angeles Unified School District’s North Valley Occupational Center’s Aviation Center at Van Nuys Airport (VNY).
• Pilot scholarship funding for students attending Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California.
• Mechanic scholarships at Hartford’s Connecticut Aerotech School, and career training opportunities at Clay Lacy’s FAA Part 145 Repair Station at Waterbury-Oxford (OXC) Airport.
• Support for the Gold Stars to Blue Skies program through Raider Air, which, as mentioned, assists the children of fallen U.S. Marines as they negotiate the complex and costly path to Private Pilot certification.
• Women’s aeronautics and technology scholarships supporting the International Aviation Women’s Association scholarship program at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Flushing, New York.

Clay Lacy’s partnership with Connecticut Aerotech has been built over the FBO chain’s nearly decade-long history on Connecticut’s Waterbury–Oxford Airport (OXC). During that time, Clay Lacy has hired a number of Aerotech graduates, and dramatically increased its OXC presence. Most recently, the company, in 2022, broke ground on the first phase of a $20-million, 11-acre development that will see a new Clay Lacy fixed-base operations (FBO) and 40,000-square-foot hangar.

Clay Lacy’s scholarship initiatives align with the company’s aspirations to optimize the sustainability of both its ground and in-air operations.

FMI: www.claylacy.com