Scholarship Report Card

With 14 recipients of the Scholarship in six years, we feel we are gaining some traction and substance. True to our original charter, all our winners have come from backgrounds of hardship. But that isn’t the only requirement – they need to have overcome, or are overcoming, those difficult times. Generally, we refer to financial hardship but several of our winners have had tough family lives – because of illness within the family or other family instability.

We consider all our winners to have been tested in fire before we met them AND whilst going through the assessment phase as shortlisted candidates. For those prospective employers out there – our winners are not just gold, they are diamonds! Formed under immense pressure and shining bright as a result!

Although we have 14 recipients, we still consider it early days when it comes to results. The simple reason being that our winners are mostly between the ages of 15 and 20 when they are awarded. Inevitably, there will be a delay between becoming a recipient and finding work after completing training.

Taken just yesterday, Ben after passing his B Cat Instructor Rating with Nathan Clarke

Our first winner to earn an income as a pilot is Ben Williams. He was 19 when he received his scholarship in 2019. Just yesterday, he passed his B Cat Instructors rating. It goes without saying that we’re pretty chuffed with this news – a great Christmas present. Here’s his update…

“Today I passed my B-Category Instructor Rating! (19/12/2024) A big few weeks of preparation have led to a successful flight test pass with Nathan Clarke. Having my BCAT means I now have more instructor privileges such as sending first solo’s and BFRs. I am loving the world of flight instruction and am stoked to have achieved this milestone is such as short amount of time. I am now looking forward to a much needed Christmas and New Year break after a crazy busy year, I managed to fly 365 hours this year, and only going full time instructing in May - I am looking forward to an even busier year ahead!”

Gemma Bray - newly minted C Cat Instructor

Gemma Bray was 17 when she was granted a scholarship in 2022. She recently qualified as a C Cat Instructor and is looking for work, currently. Here’s her update…

“I have just recently finished my training, having sat MEIR, CPL and C-cat all within 2024. It's been a big couple of years, and I am very much looking forward to finding my first aviation job. I will be formally graduated from IAANZ a couple of weeks ago, so it was nice to see everything finally tied together”.

Beni Rae in an Airvan - his newest rating

Beni Rae was just 16 years old when he received his scholarship in 2020. Having completed his CPL, he is currently looking for work in the tourism sector. Here’s his update….

“It's been a very interesting past few months. My CPL flight test went great, but after I got it, most places had already started getting ready for the summer season. My flight examiner put me forward to an operator, as he said I did well and they were looking for someone. After some communication, a GA8 Airvan rating, and time at their airfield, it all slipped away in November, due to some business issues. So, I started November with nothing lined up and a big sense of uncertainty. However, I carried on with the ground work I had in Christchurch. At the moment money is a huge factor - it means flexibility, more flying, and gives me options. I didn't have enough money saved to complete my MEIR, as the cost has increased over the past couple years. Though I don't see this as a setback, I'm still employable, and confident I can make it work.

Sounds Air needed an extra staff member in Wanaka, so they started flying me down for a few days a week to work there. Air Chathams needed a brand new van to move from Auckland to Timaru, so I got flown up one morning and made the long haul home. I had been talking to one of the managers about the C206 on the island doing a run from Chatham to Pitt Island, so I asked him again in Auckland. Turns out they had put out expressions of interest internally! But, in getting taken on with them, my email slipped through the cracks and I never received anything. Another bit of a setback.

So, with me spending more time away from Christchurch than actually being home, I asked Sounds Air if I could move down to Wanaka. There's a lot more hours for me there, and plenty of scenic operators that I could start talking to. It was given a green light and I moved down last week. Over the summer, I'll be saving money, enjoying Wanaka, and getting ready for the end of the season. If nothing comes up in New Zealand I have to weigh up going for a C-CAT, going to Australia, or going back to do my MEIR. I think at this stage Australia is my most likely path forward.

So, though the past couple months have been a challenge, I'm still looking up. I'm still flying in my own time, and as I said last time I'm not slowing down until I land that first flying job.”

Abi Carter living her dream

Abi Carter was 20 when she became a winner last year. She’s currently at NAC, living her dream. Here’s her update…

“I'm almost at the end of my first year at NAC! I've had a busy few months, and I've learned a lot. I've completed most of my CPL flying and I passed my cross country flight test last month!! (Yay!) I've done some incredible cross country flights - I've been to Hokitika, Hanmer, Kaikoura, Palmerston North, and I even flew across to Omaka, which had always been an intimidating aerodrome for me - and I've nearly got the 50 hours cross country PIC that I need. It's been wonderful achieving so many personal milestones and feeling my skills and confidence growing daily.

I'm a month into my MEIR (Multi Engine Instrument Rating) and it's quite a steep learning curve! I spent the first week in complete and utter confusion and it was a relief to see everyone else on my course looking equally shell-shocked at the end of each day, but it's making sense now and I'm really loving it! It's some very, very fun flying”.

Dilan Richard had to wait 11 years for this photo

Dilan Richard is an outlier being that he was 26 years old when he received his scholarship last year. But his story is extraordinary. You can read his story here. He’s currently at IAANZ. Here’s his update…

“It has now been five months since I started my studies with IAANZ. I have been busy with completing all my PPL theory papers and required flying experiences to convert my Australia RPL to NZ PPL. All the instructors and staff at IAANZ are incredibly helpful and friendly. I am glad and proud to be studying at IAANZ. I have now received all the requirements for applying for my NZ PPL and expect to do my BFR on 7th Dec.

Additionally, I have started on clearing my CPL subjects and expect to complete all my CPL papers by March. Moreover, I adore Christchurch's scenery and love flying in Christchurch. I am looking forward to starting my cross country flying phase soon.

Since I started flying in NZ, the most common word I have heard from my instructors is PIC MINDSET (Pilot in command Mindset). It made me question myself as to how to be in the right mindset in order to fly the aircraft as PIC.

As I am continuing my flight training, I have also adapted the habit of reading lots of aviation related books. This is something I consider enjoyable. I am also trying to have a chat with AirNZ Pilots to get to know more about the PIC Mindset.

In my training period, my goal and aim is not to just get the requirements to be a licensed pilot, but to get all the skills and knowledge from experienced aviators that can’t be earned with any theory studies”.

Murphy McMillan chilling in his favourite spot

Murphy McMillan was 16 when he was awarded the Hillmorton Scholarship for 2022. He is currently at IAANZ. Here’s his update…

“Since my last update, I have completed my Private Pilots License and PPL Cross Country syllabus, and have been flying CPL Cross Country for the last few months, which has been extremely rewarding and enjoyable, with some awesome trips around the south island thus far.

Flying around the mountains in places like Pukaki (Twizel), Wanaka, and Hokitika provides some outstanding scenery and really highlights some of the challenges we face when flying in New Zealand due to our unique topography.

I have completed all CPL exams (and some ATPL's) and am now working through my Instrument Rating examinations. My next step after the Cross Country phase will be Hour Building and preparing for my Commercial Pilots License flight test in the coming months after the New Year”.

Our inaugural winner, Wen Seng Chen, was the first to finish CPL training back in early 2023 but has been unable to find a job in the desired tourism aviation sector so he has taken a year off to earn a good income before returning to training or to decide his next steps in his aviation career. Since he is a multilingual pilot, we were saddened that he was unable to find work, and we hope that a tour operator will approach us to talk with Wen Seng.

Other recipients are waiting to start their training in the New Year – that includes Alika Hunn (NAC), Matthew Youssef and Twilight Edwards (Southern Wings), and Mason Jensen (Massey University of Aviation). Hamish Kirk has had a bit of a hiatus in his training but is back into it again in January (IAANZ).

Two other wonderful winners of the Scholarship were unable to start or complete their CPL training – one because of a Class 1 medical issue and the other because of unexpected difficulties. They remain part of our family of winners, and we wish only the best for them in their new careers.

It is through the disappointment felt by these two young men that we had a steep learning curve (it is, afterall, just me and John running the scholarship) and we now insist on applicants being able to obtain a Class 1 medical prior to a scholarship being granted.

We believe we have a duty of care to our winners and we work very hard to give them the very best support possible – through mentoring, setting their expectations and uploading articles every week to our website and social media channels that may give them (and others) the knowledge to be able to stand out from the crowds graduating from the Flight Training Organisations the same time they do.

We constantly tweak our application forms to make sure we keep current with our ever growing awareness of the difficulties that newly graduated pilots go through to find their first roles.

And on the sponsorship front? All three of our sponsors have indicated they wish to sponsor winners again in 2025. This means up to four scholarships awarded. This encourages us greatly, and we offer our heartfelt thanks to The Hugo Charitable Trust, The Gattung Foundation, and David and Helen Meale for believing in us and our winners – we couldn’t achieve what we do without you.

And of course, if you’ve read this article and feel you’d like to help us help these remarkable young people – we’d love to hear from you (hello@pauwelsflyingscholarship.co.nz).

See you in the New Year!