Youth Programs
The Young Eagles Program is the Experimental Aircraft Association’s ten-year plan to expose one million kids to flying. The SSA is part of the program, and SSA members can participate by taking up "Young Eagles". To qualify, the youngster must be aged 8 through 17, and must have parental permission. Besides taking the youngster on a free ride in a glider, your role is to submit the EAA application form. Just write in your SSA member number and "SSA" as the approved group. For more information and an application form, click here. The EAA will give the youngster a free certificate, and a patch is only a couple of bucks.
You are not into filling out paperwork, or the youngsters you know don’t care about certificates? Well, take them flying anyway, as the point of this is to introduce youngsters to soaring. This introduction will give them a new experience, and also hopefully will attract a few new converts to the sport.
The Michael Wallace Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in memory of Michael Wallace. Michael was a young man who was always interested in airplanes, and had the goal of becoming an airline pilot. He soloed in sailplanes at age 16, and earned his private pilot glider rating at age 18. Michael had just begun his training in powered aircraft when, on February 15, 2001, he and his flight instructor, and two other pilots, lost their lives in a mid-air collision over the harbor in Long Beach, California. He was 18 years old.
The Scholarship awards one grant each year for the purpose of flight training in sailplanes. The grant is paid directly to the glider flight training organization the recipient chooses. The grant may be used only for glider aerotows, flight instruction, and glider rentals. The recipient must be between the ages of 14-22, be a full-time student, have at least a 2.5 grade point average, and show a very strong desire to learn to fly. Financial need is also a consideration. The hope is that the grant will give the recipient a start on the road to becoming a glider pilot (and beyond).
The Scholarship Fund is administered by members of Cypress Soaring Inc. Michael was a member of Cypress Soaring, and learned to fly gliders there. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to help a young person to soar, you may send a check to The Michael Wallace Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Arthur Wallace, 1054 Calle Juca, La Habra Heights, CA 90631. No donation is too small. The Scholarship Fund is organized under Internal Revenue Code 501(c)3 as a charitable organization. Cypress Soaring does not materially benefit in any way from this Scholarship Fund.
The Cypress Soaring website is at http://www.crypresssoaring.org. The application form for the scholarship is at http://www.cypresssoaring.org/Scholarship/MWApp.pdf.
