Able Flight

New plane, scholarships, meeting to impact persons with disabilities

Purdue instructors are currently training four disabled student pilots as part of the Able Flight program that has helped dozens of disabled pilots solo and earn sport pilot certificates. The aviation technology department will host representatives of companies such as Republic Airways, Envoy Air, General Electric, and Directional Aviation Capital for an open brainstorming forum. Aviation industry entrepreneur, executive and investor Kenneth C. Ricci is buying a specially-equipped Sky Arrow L600 to help Purdue expand the program, which is limited in part by the need to lease the lightweight planes in which the students train.

Flight program gives students with disabilities new opportunities

The fifth annual Able Flight program at Purdue University, for aspiring pilots with disabilities, will welcome six recruits for its six-week course May 20.

Able Flight, a non-profit organization based in Chapel Hill, N.C., provides men and women with disabilities an opportunity to attain a pilot license.

Purdue has a 100 percent success rate of its students earning pilot certifications, and a number of Able Flight participants have continued their education in Purdue’s Department of Aviation Technology.

Additional information:

In the news: Able Flight helps five with disabilities to fly

Five people with physical disabilities are about halfway through their Able Flight pilot training at Purdue University.

Hosted by the Department of Aviation Technology at Purdue, Able Flight is in its fourth year at the University. The program includes five weeks of intensive and ground training that leads to a pilot certificate. The Able Flight participants train with Purdue flight instructors in Sky Arrow LSAs adapted with hand controls.

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