To the family of Doug Yost and to the Scholarship Committee,

I spent a lot of my childhood with my eyes fixed upon the sky. There was never a shortage of activity in the sky around our home at Sky Harbor Airpark at Webster, MN. I developed a love for aviation at a very young age, growing up in that atmosphere. I got my first airplane ride with the late Eberhard Engel when I was five years old.. From that day on, I knew I had to be a pilot and I never passed up an opportunity to fly with Eberhard, Larry Winn, or any of my other neighbors. My childhood dream of flying never subsided.

After graduating from high school, I attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. I am very grateful for the invaluable experiences I had during my time at St. Olaf. The liberal arts education I received really opened my eyes to the world. It exposed me to many things I otherwise would have never been able to experience, including studying abroad in Europe and a number of volunteer experiences. During my junior year I founded a student organization that worked to provide low-income single mothers in the Northfield community with necessary items for their babies. I also volunteered for an organization that provided free child-care for low-income parents in Northfield. These were very rich experiences that taught me the importance of remembering those less fortunate. They have given me the desire to one day create a charity aviation organization that gives children fighting illnesses the opportunity to spend a day away from the hospital, learn about aviation, and take a flight in an airplane. I learned firsthand that the most grateful people in the world are those with the least.

In the spring of 2003, I graduated from St. Olaf and made my plans to attend flight school. In October 2003, I enrolled in the career pilot program at Pan Am International Flight Academy in Phoenix, Arizona. While at Pan Am, I earned my commercial certificates for single-engine and multi-engine airplanes, along with an instrument rating. I was also able to complete a course in Crew Resource Management. The demanding and fast-paced environment at Pan Am was very challenging, but I am grateful for the experience. I learned many lessons in aviation while at Pan Am. I also learned life lessons as the result of an aircraft accident that claimed the life of a close friend.

In the fall of 2004, I moved back to Minnesota. I am now in the final stages of my CFI certification at Rare Aircraft flight school in Owatonna. Upon completion of my CFI, I have been given the opportunity to immediately begin instructing new private students at Rare Aircraft. It will be an important step in my pursuit of a career as a commercial or corporate pilot.

Although my aviation experiences so far have been exciting, my true desire has always been to learn aerobatics. One pilot from our neighborhood that had a particular influence on me was Jim Greisen. Jim lived in our neighborhood when I was still a kid. Jim owned a home-built Skybolt which he used to tear up the skies above Sky Harbor. Some of the maneuvers he would pull had the neighborhood wondering just how long his wings would stay attached to the airplane! There was no mistaking the sound of Jim's airplane. Whenever I heard his airplane I would run outside and watch him in awe as he tumbled through the skies. I may have been just a kid when he lived here, but I could never forget his style of flying. I knew one day that I not only wanted to fly, but wanted to fly like Jim Greisen. This is a dream that still burns strong within me.

I have a special dream to compete in aerobatics and hopefully one day become an air show performer. Acrobatic flight is, without a doubt, the aspect of aviation that fascinates me the most. Once in a while, John Klatt makes his way down to the Sky Harbor airspace and I find myself watching him fly just as I watched Jim Greisen as a kid. I hope I am able to one day provide inspiration to an aspiring pilot, just as so many people have done so for me.

I wish to receive training in aerobatics, not only to begin the pursuit of my acrobatic dream, but also to increase my safety as a pilot. Before beginning flight school, I lost a lifelong friend from Sky Harbor in an aircraft accident. While in flight school, tragedy struck again and one of my closest friends was killed in an IFR flight-into-terrain accident. I have learned the importance of flight safety the hard way. Although it was painful at times, after my friend's accident, I continued my work at Pan Am and had great success. I wish to build on what I learned at Pan Am and do everything 1 can to enhance my own pilot skills and ability to operate aircraft safely.

As a CFI, my piloting abilities in unusual flight attitudes will be extremely important in assuring not only my safety, but the safety of my students. At Rare Aircraft I have the opportunity of flying in an environment very much a part of the acrobatic world. Rare Aircraft not only operates a flight school, but also an FBO that restores Waco bi-planes and promotes/sells/services American Champion aircraft. As a CFI with acrobatic training, I believe 1 could bring a unique perspective to their excellent operation.

Unfortunately, acrobatic training comes with a high cost. Attending four years of college and flight school required a heavy financial commitment from me. While working on my CFI, I have had to keep a full-time job in order to pay my student loans and flight school loans. As a result, the ability to finance acrobatic training would be very difficult for some time to come. With help from Chapter 78, I would not only be able to increase my own pilot skills and safety, but also be able to begin fulfilling a lifelong dream of flying aerobatics.

On a more personal note, I know what it is like to lose friends and family. I know this scholarship must mean a lot to the family of Doug Yost, as well as all his friends at Chapter 78. 1 would be honored for Chapter 78 and the Yost family to be a part of the pursuit of my dream. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Ryan Flicek