Epic Flight Academy Offers $100,000 in Aircraft Mechanic Scholarships
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APRIL 22, 2020
New Smyrna Beach, FL – Epic Flight Academy, located at the New Smyrna Beach Airport, is offering $100,000 in Aircraft & Powerplant (A&P) mechanic scholarships to help recipients build a career in the wake of COVID-19. The scholarships are open to Florida applicants. Ten recipients will receive $10,000 each toward their aircraft mechanic training at Epic. The scholarship reduces the tuition cost to $9,500. Additional costs include $300 for books, $1,500 for tools (which students keep), a $45 application fee once approved, three FAA exams that cost $160 each, and an FAA oral exam and practical exam that cost $1,050. With a scholarship, the total cost is reduced to $12,880. The program takes 18 months. Applicants can apply online by June 10th. Winners will be notified by June 20th.
“I began my career in aviation in 1997 as an A&P mechanic,” said CEO Danny Perna, who started Epic in 1999 with his wife Amy. “I always liked working with my hands, building new things, taking things apart. I liked working with people, being outside, and doing something different every day. However, I did not like high school and couldn’t sit down for long enough to be successful in college.” Perna later became a pilot and flight instructor before launching the flight school.
“Becoming an A&P was a fantastic changing point in my life,” Perna said. “I felt I had a leading edge on getting a new job. After cutting grass and waiting tables, becoming an A&P opened doors I had never imagined. Think of walking into an interview and saying I am trained to work on the airlines you fly on. It also gave me the skills to be successful in business. To become an A&P mechanic, you learn how to troubleshoot problems, you learn to become a risk manager, and you learn how to make calculated decisions. Even at the height of all the stress of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel the skills I learned from becoming an A&P helped me navigate through this challenging time, which is what led me to offer these scholarships.”
“All around the world people are doing what they can to help each other,” Perna continued. I felt inspired to do something, and this is something I can do. An A&P certificate changed my life, and it can do the same for others. Whether someone wants to work in the airlines, SpaceX, equipment repair, or even become the CEO of their own company like I did, the A&P offers important skills that lend themselves to a multitude of career options. It feels good to be doing something positive at this time here in my home state.”
Applications will close June 10th. Winners will be announced June 20th. Classes are projected to start late June and run 5 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.