Volume 6, Issue 12 | December 2023
Meet Our 2023 Scholarship Winners
L-R: Shemuel Ortiz, Orion Maka, New Smyrna Beach Mayor Fred Cleveland, Juliana Gonzalez, Robert Brown (not pictured: Melissa Hernandez, Roger Roden, Cody Stebbins)
On Saturday, November 4, 2023, Epic Flight Academy announced the recipients of the 8th Annual Aviation Scholarship Awards during a special event and career fair. Seven high school students received a total of $80,000 in scholarships. New Smyrna Beach Mayor Fred Cleveland presented the awards on behalf of Epic. Robert Brown and Orion Maka each won $20,000 for aircraft mechanic training. Juliana Gonzalez, Melissa Hernandez, Roger Roden, and Cody Stebbins each won $5,000 for flight training, and Shemuel Ortiz won $20,000 for flight training.
To date, Epic has awarded more than $360,000 to 27 high school students in the last eight years of hosting this event. Congratulations to all!
New Flight Students
Welcome to our newest flight students who joined us in November at the main campus! We also welcomed new pilots at our Ocala, Tallahassee, and Tucson campuses!
FEAM Aero Offering Tuition Reimbursement
Construction crews are busy completing the interior of our new aircraft mechanic school at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) as you can see here.
Are you thinking about enrolling in our aircraft mechanic program at our new location at CVG? If so, you can apply for up to $25,000 in tuition reimbursement from FEAM Aero!
Construction is progressing steadily, and we are eager to begin training students in 2024! Our next class in New Smyrna Beach begins on Feb. 12th. You can prequalify in minutes, and we’ll save you a seat!
Epic Alumni News: Soaring Careers
We love sharing the accomplishments of our graduates and have plenty of good news this month!
Congratulations to all, starting with Kaitlyn Hickey, a First Officer for Southern Airways Express, who recently earned her type rating for the Airbus! An Duc Le and Phuoc Toan Nguyen also earned their type ratings for the A320. Christian Cunanan completed his type rating for the Boeing 737 at Avelo Airlines. Mehmet Ula is now a First Officer at Frontier Airlines flying the A320/321. Ian Gammon is now flying for Spirit Airlines, and Andrew Keoni Kalama is an Aircraft Mechanic 1 for Aloha Tech Ops and works on the B737NG series, Max, classic, B777, B767, and A321neo.
We applaud everyone’s achievements and couldn’t be prouder! If you’re an Epic graduate, please send us an update!
Appreciating Our Veterans
Many of Epic’s students and staff are veterans of the Armed Forces. We celebrated their service during the week of Veterans Day with a cookout at the aircraft mechanic school. Thanks to each and every one of our veterans for their service!
Student Appreciation at Ocala Campus
Ocala flight students took some time out for pizza and camaraderie during our Student Appreciation Day. We also hosted a study night to review key concepts.
Epic Out and About
Epic staff members attended career fairs in Kentucky and Florida. With so many students thinking about careers in aviation, we love to share Epic opportunities!
Aircraft Mechanic Exams
Congratulations to these aircraft mechanic students who passed FAA exams last month!
Airframe
Alexander Swindle
Christian Carroll
Andrew Golliday
Pilot Check Rides
These flight students passed check rides on their first attempt in November!
Private Pilot
Phoenix Taiyo Smith
Mahid Islam
Msagati-Katindi William Mndolwa
Dat Tien Nguyen
Instrument Rating
Gregory Thomas Sheppard
Levi Douglas McCall
Cody Jacob Moser
Glenn Stafford Murray
MD Mahmud Hasan
Hoang Minh Nguyen
Brendan Jack Kenny
S M Ridwan Mahmud Rafi
Commercial Single-Engine
Taha Hekmat Saeed
Wesley Nathan Weingord
Andrew Ryan Kennedy
Jake Michael Bradley
Karina Marie Ortiz Munoz
Santiago Velasqez Gallego
Commercial Multi-Engine
Yen Yu Chen
Dendy Erai Fadlie
Sasa Naorungroj
Clayton James Smith (Ocala)
Samuel Brooks Whitehurst
Dillon Matthew Barker
Christian Scott Turner
Phouc Minh Phan
Jacob Charles Niewinski
Shane Marion Joseph Williams
Anthony Alexander Samuel
Robert Russell Carroll
Alexander Patrick Korbas
Amber Mizuki
Certified Flight Instructor
Dillon Scott Gover
Alan Jeffry Hobson
Arthur James Clarke
John Maure Saba V
Kendal Lynn Koblick
Sean Ryan Wertz
Sean Kevin Leach
Brett Charles Farley
Certified Flight Instructor – Instrument
Luke Weston Bazel
Nathaniel Paul Jackson
Hayley Addison Kudey
David Michael Hartung
Jerry Wade Jacobs II
Jessica Anne Frascotti
Multi-Engine Flight Instructor
Jeffrey Thomas Knipe
Joseph Daniel Hill
Caroline Bea Gaillet
Alexander William Corkery
How many pilots are you shopping for this holiday season? We have a list of 101 pilot gifts with links to help you find the perfect present!