Congratulations to our 2026 EAA Chapter 35 Youth Flight Training Scholarship recipients:
Elle Bedigrew - our 2026 Brame Flight Training Scholarship recipient.
Ayden Turner - our 2026 EAA Chapter 35 Patriot Scholarship recipient.
Brooklyn Linares - our 2026 Ray Aviation Scholarship recipient.
Aiden Arana - our second 2026 Ray Aviation Scholarship Recipient.
EAA Chapter 35 is dedicated to introducing San Antonio, Texas area youth to aviation and supporting the advancement of their aviation education through scholarships. Every year since 2020, EAA has selected our chapter to administer prestigious Ray Aviation Scholarships of up to $12,000 for eligible San Antonio, Texas area youths 16-19 to assist them in obtaining their Private Pilot certificate. Additionally, thanks to the generosity of our Chapter 35 members, we have been able to award a significant number of other scholarships of up to $12,000.
It is a sad, but widely known statistic that 80% of the typical people who begin private pilot training do not complete their training. Our experience is different: Through mid-2026, 80% of Chapter 35's scholars (the recipients of Ray Aviation Scholarships administered by EAA Chapter 35 and of Chapter 35 Scholarships) have become private pilots, 12 new private pilots in total in just 6 years.
While the financial assistance is a significant and welcome factor in that success, the Chapter has also been reasonably successful in helping these scholarship recipients through their journey to become responsible pilots through mentorship, advice, and assistance in preparation. And this assistance covers myriad aspects of life: Budgeting time and money, accounting for expenses, meeting deadlines, prioritizing conflicting desires and necessities, additional study help, test preparation, etc. One of our members likes to say that we help teach "adulting" to these youthful scholarship recipients.
Scholarship Funding Relies on Generous Donors
Do you like what you see? Do you want to help us with our efforts to introduce San Antonio, Texas area youth to aviation and supporting the advancement of their aviation education through scholarships?
Do you want to Contribute?
We appreciate donations of any amount to our scholarship fund. Donate online†here, or in person at a Chapter event. Any questions about donating to Chapter 35, or to make other arrangements for donations, please contact our Treasurer, Dee Brame, via email at: treasurer@eaa35.org. EAA Chapter 35 is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and your donations will be recognized with a letter acknowledging the donation.
And do not forget to check for matching contributions from your employer.
Please check with your income tax professional as to how best to fund and deduct the donation. For example, a Qualified Charitable Distribution from an IRA that is not taxed as income to the donor, but is also NOT eligible for a deduction as a charitable donation may be a better option for some donors than getting an IRA distribution into your bank account, paying income tax on that distribution, making a charitable contribution to a charity (such as EAA Chapter 35!) from that bank account, and being able to take a small tax deduction for that charitable donation. Or it may not be a better option, depending on their specific circumstances.
Thank you for your consideration.
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With regards to our 2027 Youth Flight Training Scholarships, there are no guarantees we will have ANY scholarship to award; we have to apply every year for Ray Aviation Scholarships to administer, and scholarship funds from our members also are donated on a one year at a time basis. And we will not find out if we will have scholarships to award until sometime in 2027. Based on our past success, however, we expect that we will have scholarships to award in 2027. In anticipation of this:
We will open the application period on December 1, 2026, and will accept applications until 11:59 PM (Central Standard Time) on January 31, 2027.
A friendly tip to those who are considering applying for a 2027 scholarship. We likely will not consider an application unless the applicant has: 1) attended at least five EAA Chapter 35 meetings & events; 2) volunteered, times, at EAA Chapter 35 events/media/projects. Look for the sign-in sheets.
Note that Chapter 35 only offers scholarships for training for a Private Pilot - Airplane certificate; any information on the EAA's Ray Aviation Scholarship website about training for licenses for glider pilots, or about applicants who are 15 years of age, does not apply.
Prerequisites/Eligibility Requirements for the award of scholarships:
Applicant must:
1. Live in or close to San Antonio, Texas, now and through the entirety of flight training.
2. Be 16-19 years of age (as of date of award of scholarship*).
3. Have received at least one EAA Young Eagles flight. Learn more about Young Eagle Flights here and here.
4. Possess a student pilot certificate.
5. Possess of an FAA medical certificate.
6. Be able to begin their flight training within 30 days of receiving the award of scholarship*
7. Commit to two hours (or more) of Chapter activities per month, such as:
a. Volunteer at Young Eagles rallies;
b. Volunteer at Chapter pancake breakfast/lunch fly-ins;
c. Chapter build project support;
d. Chapter gathering/meeting participation; and
e. Contribute to the Chapter's social media and website maintenance.
8. Commit to reaching designated flight training milestones on or before the deadlines. This will require a substantial amount of preparational study time each week, along with flight training; and
9. Submit a Completed Application and letters so that it is received by the Scholarship Coordinator by the deadline.
*Note: Award date of a Scholarship can be somewhat delayed for good reasons (at our sole discretion).
This means an applicant will need to complete the following by at least January 31, 2027 (and we recommend doing so MUCH earlier):
1. Obtain and complete the chapter scholarship application and ensure your completed Application and Letters of Recommendation from two References (more below) are transmitted to and RECEIVED BY the Chapter before the deadline. We will send back a reply to acknowledging receipt Note that in the past requests for applications have been found to be tagged as spam emails and were not found in the Spam folder until weeks later. If you do not get an application back within a day or two, follow up: Check for a typo in the addresses; maybe it was overlooked by both recipients; maybe we forgot to send receipt. File your application far enough ahead of the deadline to allow investigation and correction before deadline.
To GET a copy of the application, prospective applicants should write (during the application period) an email to:
1. EAA Chapter 35 Scholarship Coordinator, at scholarships@eaa35.org; AND to
2. EAA Chapter 35 Chapter Vice President at vicepresident@eaa35.org;
AND to
3. At least one parent's email address, if you are a minor.
Please include the following statement and information:
"I request a copy of the EAA Chapter 35 Flight Training Scholarship Application."
My name is:
My birthdate is:
My email address to use (THAT I CHECK FREQUENTLY) is:
My street address is:
If you are an adult (aged 18 or older right now) also include your phone number:
If you are a minor (less than age 18 right now) also include:
A parent/guardian's name;
Parent/guardian's email address; and
Parent/guardian's telephone number.
Please note: Completing the application will require naming adult references from your school, sport, clubs, or other activities attended. One reference should be fully immersed in aviation, such as a pilot, aviation mechanic, or the like. Your references should each submit a letter of recommendation directly to scholarships@eaa35.org. Letters of Recommendation should be sent by the reference directly to us, NOT sent to you to include with your application. But you may wish to ask them to CC you on that email, so you can see that it has been submitted; if you don't get the notification from us that it was received, figure out why. You will be notified when each letter is received. BOTH LETTERS MUST BE SUBMITTED BEFORE THE APPLICATION DEADLINE DATE but can be submitted before your application is filed. In the past, some applications were endangered because references were not available to send letters of recommendation in a timely fashion, so plan ahead. It is your responsibility to ensure both Letters of Recommendation are timely filed by the January 31 deadline. Contacting us on or after February 1 explaining the unforeseeable event that meant you could not file on the day of the deadline will result in us confirming that you missed the deadline, and that your application will not be considered. FILE EARLY.
2. Obtain a Student Pilot Certificate.This is now a more involved task than in the past, so advice from older pilots about how quick it is may not be current. Currently, a prospective student pilot must find a Certified Flight Instructor to be a "recommending instructor" who will work with the prospective student to complete the online paperwork and sign as the recommending instructor. Then the application is submitted electronically. The application takes some time for the FAA to process; however, if the student pilot certificate is not physically received by the deadline for submitting the scholarship application, we will accept a copy of the filing receipt in lieu of the required copy of the student pilot license. But get it filed before the application deadline and
3. Schedule and pass a medical exam with an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) to get at least a 3rd Class medical certificate. If you do not know an AME, perhaps choose one that supports EAA Chapter 35 by advertising in our Chapter newsletter, usually on the next-to-last page of the newsletter. One AME recommends getting a 1st Class medical certificate if you aspire to be a professional pilot, as many schools and airline training programs require it, and there is no downside, as the third-class privileges of such a certificate last as long as a 3rd Class medical certificate, and he charges the same amount as for a 3rd Class medical. SOMETIMES there are medical issues that need to be followed up, more tests, or there may be a rescheduling by the Doctor. Our advice? Get that medical scheduled ASAP, so that there is still time to get the REQUIRED medical certificate before the application deadline despite such glitches. No medical at deadline means we will take no further action on your scholarship application.
If you have questions, are unsure of requirements, etc., email the same addresses: scholarships@eaa35.org and vicepresident@eaa35.org.
ADDITIONAL HINTS
* While we understand that you might be involved in other projects or activities, this scholarship opportunity will take up much of your free time. In addition to the time required for the actual flight training and associated study (typically 3 or more days a week of ALL the time outside of eating, sleeping, and going to your schools), you will be REQUIRED to average at least 2 hours of Volunteer Activities and other engagement with Chapter 35 each month, and to provide a timely accounting of your training and expenses every month on the required monthly progress reports. Please understand that your pursuit of an EAA Flight Scholarship and a Private Pilot License is a major commitment. Please decide if you have the time in your personal schedule to make this commitment prior to signing up for this scholarship opportunity. Maybe talk to our past scholarship recipients to find out what they had to give up to fit in this commitment.
* If an applicant has completed a ground school course (such as, but not limited to, the Sportyís Learn to Fly course - which is free for youth who have taken an EAA Young Eagle 2 flight ñ which is also free), this would be something that we would view as a positive when evaluating the application. And such a course does NOT take 2 months to complete if one is diligent about it.
* After successfully completing that ground school course, a person can take the FAA Written Exam for the Private Pilot - Airplane license. If they pass and are an EAA (national, not just Chapter 35) student member (student membership is free for Young Eagles), EAA will reimburse the test fee (currently $175 for the successful test attempt).
* Passing the written exam is one of the major MILESTONES we set for our scholarship recipients. If an applicant has ALREADY passed the Written Exam at the time they apply for the scholarship, that would be something we would view as EXTREMELY positive, because if selected, that applicant would start significantly ahead, and be more likely to complete their training on time and get their license. Passing the Written Exam prior to the award of the scholarship will not affect the total amount of the scholarship awarded,
* If an applicant has begun flight training, and has already soloed in an aircraft, this would be something that we would also view as a positive when evaluating the application. However, per the rules of the Ray Aviation Scholarship, having already soloed in an airplane would result in a 40% reduction in the amount of Ray Aviation Scholarship funds awarded to such an applicant should they be awarded that scholarship (since they have much of their flight training done already). We follow the same rules for our EAA Chapter 35 funded scholarships. Soloing in aircraft other than an airplane (e.g., a glider) has not (in the past) caused a reduction in scholarship amount for aspiring AIRPLANE pilots.
