The Disabled Can Fly: An Able Flight Scholarship Provides the Lift

Jessica Cox

Friday, September 16, 2022 at 09:24 PM ET

Verified

Nathaniel Miller, with Able Flight graduates, class of 2022. [Courtesy: ableflight.org]

Key Takeaways:

Pilots with disabilities frequently face concerns about maintaining their medical certificates, which can restrict their ability to pursue powered flight.
Able Flight offers vital scholarships and training, enabling individuals with disabilities to learn to fly and gain greater self-confidence and self-reliance.
For pilots with significant physical impairments, achieving pilot-in-command status provides profound freedom from earthly barriers and social stigmas, reaffirming their willpower and resolve.

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Disability is something that pilots always have in the back of their minds, because becoming disabled could mean losing their third-class medical certificate. It is a frequent topic for discussion at my Experimental Aircraft Association chapter every month.

I mentioned this to another pilot at this year’s EAA AirVenture. Rather than thinking of how to appeal a medical denial, he just said, “If you ever have a problem getting your third-class medical, you could always fly gliders. You don’t need a medical for that.”