Aviation maintenance instructor Scott Hepburn logs in hours for his pilot’s license. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – Galen Wilson, lead instructor of Westfield Technical Academy’s Aviation Maintenance program announced that a $10,000 pilot scholarship has been awarded to one of the Aviation instructors.
The Teacher Flight Training Scholarship was awarded to Scott Hepburn by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) under the “You Can Fly” program. The competitive scholarship is presented to devoted teachers/instructors currently working in a school or as part of a training course, who are preparing students for a future in aviation through curriculum or instruction.
Hepburn began serving as a Westfield Technical Academy (WTA) Teacher on Aug. 28, 2018.Wilson said as a function of his role he teaches high school students the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 14 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 147 course. In this course students receive their FAA Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT) General and Airframe license upon successful testing in their 12th grade year. Hepburn is the lead instructor of the 11th grade class of 2021.
Hepburn’s aircraft experience was obtained while serving in the United States Air Force. He served 11 years in the Massachusetts Air National Guard as a full time technician supervisor of F-15 maintenance personnel and ten years in the United States Air Force, where he spent time with the Kosovo Air Campaign in February 1998- June 1999, Operation Enduring Freedom, Oct. 7, 2001 and other military operations during his time. He retired on January 31, 2019 from the Air National Guard after 21 years of military service to focus full-time on teaching.
Hepburn said he put in the scholarship to learn how to fly, at Wilson’s urging, after working on planes for 22 years. “I liked working on them,” he said, although when he started at WTA he had to learn the civilian way of operating, which is in a different format.
As to why he had never learned how to fly, Hepburn said, “I always had a thought of doing it, but it’s expensive when you have a family. It’s not achievable if you have kids.”
Hepburn is studying for his license through the Air1 Flight Training at Barnes run by Ken Dromgold, advisory board chair for the AMT program at WTA, and one of its founders. He said the $10,000 scholarship will get him a private pilot’s license.
“Right now I have seven hours,” Hepburn said. To get the license, you need a minimum of 40 hours of flight. His goal is 50 hours. Hepburn said it’s good for the students to see him learning. “I have a couple of students in my class who have more hours than I do,” he said. His son, who is in tenth grade, is also learning how to fly alongside of him.
“It helps out a lot. The thrill is great,” he said. Hepburn said it’s easier for him, because he knows a lot about planes and instruments. “If it wasn’t for the 104th and WTA, I wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity to learn how to fly. It’s really boosted my career on both sides.”
Talking about WTA, Hepburn called the whole school is “top notch.” He said enrollment is way up this year. “The aviation industry is short-manned, military wise and on the civilian side. We need more maintenance on both sides,” he said. He said the Federal Aviation Administration and the military are now working together towards this goal.
The AOPA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to general aviation. It also offers scholarships for students to obtain their pilot’s license.
