KENT, Wash. — Since 1999, Pacific West Aerospace Academy has cleared a flight path for economically and socially disadvantaged kids to fly.
Pacific West’s Executive Director and Chief Pilot Ty Peterson said out of 400 students who’ve gone through the program, about 200 are now flying for airlines, the military, charter flight companies, and corporate fleets. Now, Pacific West is trying to maintain its own financial altitude because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need financial support, as always,” Peterson said, as the risks associated with COVID prevented putting students and instructors in small airplanes.
The pandemic also forced the cancellation of auctions and fundraisers and the loss of some corporate sponsorships. The disease even took the lives of some of the organization's board members.
“And what PWAA has done is provide an avenue for these young men and women to be involved and to succeed. And what we do is inspire, we create, we educate,” Peterson, a former airline pilot and teacher, said.
The goal of the program is to provide scholarships, along with exposure for students to see the potential in aviation jobs. That includes scholarships for cohorts of 12 students to graduate with their private pilot’s license, which can run north of $168,000 a year, Peterson said.
Those looking to help out PWAA can visit their website.