Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association Scholarship Applications Open

RACCA’s annual scholarship program is now open for applications. The scholarships aredesigned to help aspiring pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) and airline managers pursue their careers.

“Affording an aviation education is increasingly difficult and our members and associate members are dedicated to ensuring there is funding available,” said President Stan Bernstein. “In recent years, we have helped students pursue AMT careers, airline management and pilots.

Providing scholarships to deserving young people interested in a career in aviation is one of the most important efforts RACCA undertakes each year. The RACCA Aviation Scholarships were established for the purpose of promoting and assisting in pursuing aviation as a career choice and to make students aware of the opportunities in the air cargo industry.”

RACCA, representing 50 air cargo carriers, many of which feed the FedEx, DHL and UPS networks, provides scholarships to assist in the payment of tuition, flight training, or to obtain new or additional licenses. The organization makes several awards each year in November.

Bernstein noted flying for a RACCA carrier is a valuable way to build flying time because it gives pilots experience in flying on a schedule, inclement weather, dealing with inflight and procedural issues surrounding cargo as well as night flying, operating in busy airspace, cockpit resource management issues and required record keeping, all of which are part of airline operations.

To qualify for the scholarships, applicants must be:
·      A college student currently enrolled in an accredited aviation program.
·      A resident of the United States.
·      Currently carry a Grade Point Average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Scholarship # 1 will carry the additional requirement of obtaining a letter of introduction from an existing RACCA member or RACCA associate member since the goal is for candidates to learn about the air cargo industry. If there is a RACCA member or associate member in a candidate’s immediate area, candidates should arrange to visit their operation and become familiar with all the opportunities in the growing air cargo industry. If there is no member close, candidates should call a member and tell them who they are and ask questions about the air cargo industry.

The deadline for applications is October 15, 2019 and the selection will be made by November 30 each year and distributed on December 15 to an accredited school.
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The RACCA Aviation Scholarship application is available on the RACCA website.