ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As the airline industry continues to face a pilot shortage, a new scholarship program is helping the next generation of pilots break into the industry. 

What You Need To Know

  • Friends of Albert Whitted Airport, a nonprofit, awarded scholarships to 19 students interested in exploring a career in aviation

  • There are two types of scholarships — one for students who need the financial help to finish their training, and one for those who otherwise wouldn't enroll in flight training

  • Between renting the plane and paying for an instructor, the cost of flight training can add up, a longtime flight teacher said

Over the next decade, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates there will be about 18,000 openings for commercial and private pilots every year.

The nonprofit Friends of Albert Whitted Airport recently awarded $75,000 in scholarships to 19 students to complete flight training at St. Pete Air. The scholarship is for students who could use the financial help to finish their training, or for those who otherwise wouldn’t enroll in flight school.

Dominic Polk, one of the scholarship recipients, has been flying planes since he was 15 years old, and says he loves the views from up above, especially during sunset and over the water.

Two years later, Polk is getting ready to take his license test in June and his scholarship will help him finish his training.

“I want to go far in this,” he said. “I want to have a career in aviation, so I think this will help me out big time with my startup and stuff like that. My goal is to be like a corporate pilot. A pilot for like G4s, Gulfstreams, you know, the big jets.”

Misa Franklin, who has been a flight instructor at St. Pete Air for more than 20 years, said between renting a plane and paying for in instructor, the cost of flight training can add up.

“Safety, good judgment, decision-making is very important,” Franklin said. “But experience will really help. The more they fly, the more they get it”

Emily Anderson is beginning to master the basics of flying from the ground up.

“With the cost of college, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without the scholarship,” she said. “It’s going to be enough to get me started and start towards my private pilot’s license.”

Anderson said she often watches planes land from her dorm room at the University of South Florida in St. Pete, which is what inspired her to give flight training a try. But her interest in aviation also runs in the family, as her dad served in the Air Force.

“I grew up hearing stories from him about being in planes and I’ve always liked flying,” Anderson said. “I’ve never been in a small aircraft like this but I just, when I find myself interested in something I just like to pursue it and see if I like it.”

Anderson and Polk are part of the first group of students to receive scholarship from Friends of Albert Whitted Airport. Officials with the nonprofit said the goal is to also bolster female and minority students, who are often underrepresented in aviation.