Scholarships

Sponsor a student pilot who has soloed an aircraft through our “Buy A Brick” campaign! This is the first major step in obtaining their private pilots license. At our annual Solo to Success Ceremony, scheduled for November 17, 2022, each pilot will leave their mark of accomplishment at the entrance of CFAA with a personalized brick with their name on it! Please consider a brick donation to help us recognize these fine young men and women. Donors will be listed in our Solo to Success program.

The Aerospace Center for Excellence & SUN ‘n FUN Fly-In are both 501 (c) 3 corporations. In accordance with our mission statement, we are dedicated to the development the next generation of aerospace professionals.

Over $300,000 in scholarships are awarded annually by the Aerospace Center for Excellence for students to pursue a private pilot certificate, advanced rating, industry certification, or college degree.

As of December 2021, scholarships awarded by the Aerospace Center for Excellence have enabled over 200 of these students to solo an aircraft and 135 have earned their private pilot certificate. On average, 40 students are pursuing their private pilot certificate through this scholarship program and 2-3 are awarded each month. Many of these students have gone on to further their education at the university level as well as acquiring additional certifications. 

Nobody else in the United States can claim the success stories that we share in at the Aerospace Center for Excellence. We are proud of these young men and women’s accomplishments.

You can see each student’s solo being honored at the entrance to Central Florida Aerospace Academy on the Flight Path to Success. Each November, each student that has benefited from a James C. Ray Scholarship awarded through the Aerospace Center for Excellence place their engraved brick with their name, date of solo, and tail number on the brick walkway.