Washburn scholars on cloud nine

Aviation students to fulfill lifelong dreams

Flying is his life's ambition, says aspiring pilot Eric Yard.

"I've talked to a lot of different people about it - pilots and such - and it's just one of those things," he noted. "It's one of those things you've wanted to do since you were a kid. Every pilot I've talked to has said they wanted to do this their whole life. They’ve known that's what they wanted to do."

Yard, 18, of Morris, will attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., this fall. He and three other local residents, all winners of the James R. "Bud" Washburn Aviation Scholarships, are longing to take off.

"I've wanted to be a pilot for I don't know how long," said Zachary Pettry. "Ever since I've been young, I've wanted to be an airline pilot. I just love aviation - everything about it."

Pettry said all facets of flying, even down to the environment at Morris Regional Airport, entrance him.

"I think one of the biggest moments for me is  - when I knew 100 percent I wanted to do it - was when I went up with the senior flight instructor and owner of Blue Sky Airlift, and my sister came with me," he said.

Because of the current economy and the effect on the aviation industry, Pettry plans to enroll at Joliet Junior College to complete his general education requirements, then transfer to Illinois State University or another college and pursue network security as his major.

"That's big right now," he said. "I'm trying to decide whether to further being an airline pilot after college, or right now to get a job and make some money.”

Pettry, 18, is not a student pilot. He obtained his private pilot license in 3.5 months by working hard at flying and studying 6-8 hours daily last summer. 

Former Dallas, Texas resident Justin Tullos, now of Morris, is in the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps and hopes to fly for the military.

“I’ve been in the Air Force about two years, and when I get commissioned in ROTC and go to college on that commission, hopefully I’ll get into flight training,” he said.  “From there on, I hope to be a pilot, hopefully to fly jets, but I wouldn’t mind flying anything. It’s whatever they need.”

As long as he’s up there in the air, that’s all that matters, Tullos said.

His sister steered Brian Hague to the Washburn Scholarship.

“She is dating my flight instructor, and he told me about the scholarship,” said Hague. “It sounded like a fun thing to do, and so I applied and got it. And yes, it was fun.”

Hague is vacillating between nursing and aviation for a career. Also, he could combine the two, he noted.

“I wasn’t really decided on what I was going to do, but right now I’m in-between nursing and doing something in the flying field,” he said. “ I’m going to go the Joliet Junior College for now, and I’m undecided from there on.”

Long-time pilot Sid Nelson of Morris awarded the scholarships on behalf of the late Bud Washburn, a World War II pilot and aviation enthusiast who set aside the aviation scholarships for local residents between the ages of 16 and 23, with an interest in aviation and obtaining their private pilot’s license.

“But loved flying, was a big advocate of aviation, and he flew TBMs off aircraft carriers during the war,” Nelson said. “Through these scholarships, he hoped to help young people from Morris achieve their dream of an aviation career.”

Nelson said Tuesday one more scholarship might become available, and others have already indicated an interest.

Valued at $2,000, apiece, each scholarship reimbursed the recipient $50 for every hour flown up to 40 hours within an 18-month time period.

“I knew there would be a lot of interest in the scholarships,” he noted. “A lot of kids want to get into aviation. It costs so much money to get a license, anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000 and maybe even more, so the scholarship kind of offsets things for them.”

Washburn also was mayor of Morris and an Illinois state representative for many years. Nelson said the construction going on today at the airport was put in the planning stages 18 years ago.

“Without Bud, there would not be an airport at Morris,” Nelson said. “He was the driving force behind obtaining state and federal dollars to construct the airport, so there was very little cost to the taxpayers of Morris.”