The James C. Ray Scholarship Program just celebrated its 150th Private Pilot. Hayden Gomez completed his Private Pilot check ride on August 13, 2022, on the day of his 18th birthday. A graduate of Central Florida Aerospace Academy in May of 2022, Gomez’s plans are to attend Jacksonville University to pursue a degree in Aviation Management and Flight Operations with the goal to become an airline pilot in the future.
Now as a Private Pilot, Hayden has some advice for those pursuing their pilot’s license saying, “Make sure you study anything and everything you can, know all of your ground training before you start doing the practical portion of flying in the air. In order, to succeed you need to figure out what you are planning on the ground first before applying it into the air.” With his experience volunteering at the SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo over the last 4 years and winning the STRATOS essay contest, Hayden says, “For some – start getting involved with an airport, get yourself out there, expose yourself to that element of flying.”
Hayden started his flight training in early 2021 at Legends Aviation Academy at Lakeland Linder International Airport. He completed his first solo in July of 2021 in a Cessna 172 and with 63 hours of flight experience, he completed his check ride in the Tecnam P2008.