Aviation and aerospace charity The Air League has opened applications for its 2023 scholarship programme, offering both powered and gliding opportunities to successful candidates.
Founded in 1909, the Air League – described by the organisation as “the UK’s leading aviation, aerospace and space charity” – aims to “break down the barriers into these industries through its scholarship and outreach programmes“.
Over £2 million of funding has been awarded to young people across the UK over the past decade, and over 120 opportunities – “the broadest range of scholarships and bursaries in the UK”– are awarded annually.
Over £180,000 in scholarships and bursaries was awarded in 2022, and this year “sees the introduction of several changes that aim to deliver the maximum impact to the Air League’s beneficiaries”; aiming to “enhance the career pathways of future pilots, aspiring engineers, and many other professional aviation disciplines”.
2023 powered flight scholarships will include a three-hour scholarship to complement the five and twelve hour awards; a two-day course intended to offer an “initial powered flying experience combined with ground school theory and an engineering taster experience”. The five-hour award “offers an additional powered flying experience combined with advanced ground school” while the twelve-hour option “is an advanced award that provides powered flying with the aim of going solo“.
The Prince Philip Flying Scholarship, allowing the recipient to achieve a full PPL, will also be awarded to “a previous flying scholar who has displayed outstanding potential” (subject to being a member of the Air Training Corps and holding a Duke of Edinburgh award).
Gliding scholarships also follow a similarly tiered approach, “offering those with zero to little aviation experience an opportunity gain skill and build understanding”. Gliding bursaries on offer include the ‘gliding to solo scholarship’ (held residentially over a two-week period), the ‘SLMG conversion scholarship’, and the ‘pilot development scholarship’.
Applicants must be a permanent UK resident, be able to meet the requirements for a Class 2 medical and not hold a completed license (although the scholarship may be used towards the completion of a LAPL, NPPL or PPL). The minimum age is 16 (14 for some gliding scholarships) and there is no upper age limit.
Applications must be submitted no later than 12pm on Sunday 30 April, after which two independent members of the scholarship selection committee with select candidates to attend an interview in May.
More information, and a link to apply, can be found here.
