Aerospace Leadership Scholarships

Do you want to fly?

Are you a Civil Air Patrol cadet who has:

• Earned your Mitchell Award,
• Earned your Solo Wings in a powered aircraft,
• Maintained at least a 3.0 GPA (normalized) in high school,

…and has not received (or been selected for) a similar (flying) scholarship or grant?

If so, then you are eligible to apply for The Spaatz Association Aerospace Leadership Scholarship!  The scholarship is intended to be used primarily to bring a cadet from solo to his/her private pilot’s license.  A limited amount of the scholarship may also be used to attend a CAP leadership activity, or to serve in a leadership position at a suitable CAP activity.  The scholarship must be used within one year of award and while the winner is still an active cadet in good standing.

How to Apply:

Submit…

• A resume of your CAP career;
• Proof of academic standing;
• 3 letters of recommendation: one from your Squadron Commander or Deputy for Cadets, one from your flight instructor, and one from an individual of your choice;
• No more than 2 written pages explaining:
  • 1) What you’ve done for the Civil Air Patrol,
  • 2) What the scholarship will be used for, and
  • 3) How your use of the scholarship will benefit the Civil Air Patrol in the future;
• A full-length picture in CAP uniform, preferably service dress, but not a utility uniform; and
• An email and phone number where we can contact you.

Note: This is not a CAP scholarship. The application requirements are different, and incomplete or incorrect applications will be disqualified.  Please fulfill the above requirements exactly.

Submit your application electronically or by postal mail as specified below. If you create one large pdf file, do not put the picture in the pdf and please “Optimize” or compress the document.  Applications must be POSTMARKED (or have an electronic date-time stamp) NO LATER THAN 30 September.  If you submit your application via postal mail, do NOT require signature or delivery confirmation.  Late applications will not be accepted.

Send electronic/email submissions to:

Colonel Bob Mattes, USAF (Ret.)
(Link is encoded, but will open in your default email program.
If you need technical assistance, contact us. )

Send postal mail submissions to:

TSA Scholarship Committee
3059 Military Road
Arlington, VA 22207-4133

When are winners announced?

The scholarship will be awarded at The Spaatz Association Winter Dinner which occurs coincident with the CAP Winter Board meeting, usually in early March.

Click HERE for a list of previous scholarship winners.

Why a scholarship?

The United States Air Force has espoused three basic core values: integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do.  The CAP Cadet Program both builds and demands integrity as part of its cadets training.  As Spaatzen, we wish to encourage excellence in the cadets through our service.  To accomplish this, we voted to offer a scholarship with the vision of promoting enduring aerospace leadership through continued general aviation flight training and CAP leadership activities.

Why a flying scholarship?

Let’s face it, flying is expensive.  CAP cadets generally come from modest means.  Many of us, including myself, wanted to get our private licenses as cadets, but could never get the money together.  Those of us who fly understand the meaning of the old adage “Because I fly, I envy no man.”  This scholarship is our way to help those who follow us to achieve what we could not.  After all, isn’t that a key part of what America is all about–ensuring that succeeding generations have it better than we did?

Why the leadership emphasis?

America and the world need strong, capable leaders to carry us into the future.  There are precious few leadership training opportunities for our youth these days.  Core values like integrity and service are getting harder to come by in the generation now coming of age.  The Civil Air Patrol is one of the last remaining institutions with high standards of conduct and effective leadership training for youth.  These young people stand out in a crowd of moral ambiguity and me-first attitudes and should be properly recognized and encouraged.