AS A MEMBER OF AZBAA

I AM VERY PROUD OF WHAT WE ARE DOING FOR ASPIRING AVIATORS

Home | Classifieds | Coupons | Galleries | Obituaries | Real Estate Search |Subscribe | Phone Book | E-Alerts | RSS Find It ▼ Blogs ▼ Features ▼ Milestones ▼ Submit ▼ Extras ▼ home : features : features Share September 29, 2010 9/26/2010 10:00:00 PM Achievers: Aspiring pilot lands another scholarship By Ken Hedler The Daily Courier PRESCOTT - Drew Cochran, a junior majoring in aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University here, said he enjoys the thrill of piloting a plane. "What do I like about flying?" he asked rhetorically. "I like being able to look down and see things from a different perspective and the dynamic of being able to take a machine and move it through the air." Piloting is "also a mental challenge, " he said. "You have to be able to anticipate what is going to happen. It is not just the airplane. It is the weather. It is the cargo. It is the people you are carrying. The airports are your destination." Cochran's immediate destination after graduating in May 2012 is landing a job as a flight instructor at Embry-Riddle. His career ambition is to become a commercial pilot, perhaps for a corporation. Making it possible to attain his goals are scholarships to help pay for attending the private college. The eldest of seven children of an aerospace industry machinist and a school district librarian, he said he has been fortunate in earning scholarships. Cochran, 20, recently received the 2010 Angel MedFlight Scholarship for Excellence in Education from Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance in Scottsdale. "We believe that Drew is an exemplary student," Kelly LoCascio, Angel MedFlight's chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. "We were impressed by his commitment to his education. In fact, he works two jobs to cover the cost of his tuition and flight instruction." Angel MedFlight sponsors the scholarship through a partnership with the Arizona Business Aviation Association. The award includes $3,000 toward Cochran's tuition and a commemorative plaque. Cochran, who grew up in Maple Valley, Wash., 20 miles east of Seattle, said the scholarship will cover half of the cost of his commercial single-engine flight training at Embry-Riddle. He said he learned about the scholarship through the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, a general aviation advocacy group. Cochran has a promising career after he graduates, said Bill O'Hara, who chairs the flight department at Embry-Riddle and has known the student for two years. "He is always asking questions," O'Hara said. "He is going to be a five-star commercial pilot. He will probably be running his own business in five years. He is a top-drawer guy, and he is going to be successful no matter what field he enters."