Class of 2025 Scholarship Recipients To Join the Program’s 98 Licensed Pilots

Able Flight, a nonprofit organization that offers flight training opportunities to those with physical disabilities, is entering its 20th year of operation with 98 licensed pilots. One of its recently announced scholarship recipients for the Class of 2025 will become the 100th Able Flight pilot.

Members of the 2025 class will begin their flight training at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale immediately following their arrival on May 23. They will spend up to eight weeks in an accelerated training program before going up for their check rides in July.

For the ground training portion, the Class of 2025 will use the Sporty’s ground school course and extra help from a remote SIU instructor over the next three months. Once they get on campus, they will meet their assigned instructors to prepare for the upcoming flights.

Students will complete their training in the SIU School of Aviation’s Vashon Ranger Light Sport Aircraft. The pair of planes, delivered to the university in April 2024, are specially outfitted with hand controls that are accessible to student pilots with physical disabilities.

The Class of 2025 flight training scholarships were awarded to six future aviators with a wide range of backgrounds. The first, Ronny Ahmed, was paralyzed ten years ago after being shot twice by a gunman at Florida State University. He plans to return to FSU to earn his Masters once his flight training is completed.

The second recipient is Ryan Berndt of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He was born with issues in his left leg and hip, forcing doctors to amputate him at a young age. Berndt was inspired to start flight training when his twin brother earned his license.

Brandi Fields of Missouri is the third scholarship recipient. She is a certified trauma nurse with an extensive educational background and was shot on a trip home to see her family. The resulting spinal injury didn’t stop her passion, and she returned to nursing remotely.

The fourth member, Dr. Chris Karadjov, had started flight training back in 2021 before being paralyzed in a skiing accident. Domenico “Nick” Lazzaro, the fifth recipient, had also logged flight hours and served in the Army National Guard up until his cancer diagnosis.

Utah’s Jonathan Leonard is the sixth and final recipient. He grew up in aviation and even took a Young Eagles flight, but was paralyzed in a 2014 car accident. Leonard hopes to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a pilot and home-building his own aircraft.

FMI: www.ableflight.org