SIU, Able Flight strengthen long-term ties with formal donation of planes, funds
The partnership between Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Aviation and Able Flight, an aviation nonprofit for people with physical disabilities to receive intensive flight training, continues to grow.
After a successful inaugural cohort last summer where five Able Flight students trained with SIU Aviation instructors to become licensed pilots certified to operate light sport aircraft, the organization is formally transferring ownership of two Vashon Ranger Light Sport airplanes to the university, along with donating funds for program expenses at SIU for several years.
Charles Stites, who founded Able Flight in 2006, said that based on SIU Aviation’s “outstanding response” in working with Able Flight students, the incorporated nonprofit “is comfortable in going forward with a long-term partnership of a minimum of seven years.”
“From the beginning of this new partnership, it has been gratifying to see how not only SIU Aviation, but the university as a whole, has stepped forward to welcome our scholarship recipients and provide them with a positive experience during their time there,” Stites said. “That includes the university administration, housing and the staff at the airport. By the time our students completed this demanding and intensive training program and earned their pilot certificates, they felt they had become a part of the SIU community.”
The relationship continues the university’s longstanding commitment to providing accessibility for people with disabilities. SIU School of Aviation Director Chien-Tsung Lu said the program is an example of the university’s responsibility and mission.
“We appreciate the sponsorship from Able Flight that is able to give us the opportunity to provide this special service to the community,” Lu said.
Able Flight has been working with Purdue University since 2010 and added SIU Carbondale this year. Stites said SIU Aviation “will be taking on the role of primary training provider in 2025.”
Able Flight has licensed 98 pilots in 14 years, with several earning more than one rating or certificate through the support of the organization’s scholarship program. Stites anticipates five or six scholarship recipients will attend the six- to seven-week program at SIU beginning in May 2025.
‘Incredible gift’
The donated modified airplanes SIU is receiving are valued at approximately $170,000 apiece, Stites said. The airplanes are dedicated solely to Able Flight scholarship recipients during its annual program, which runs from May through July, and will then be available for use by SIU students the remainder of the year.
Steven Goetz, chief flight instructor and SIU Aviation associate professor, called the addition of two planes and continued relationship an “incredible gift to SIU Aviation and a huge opportunity and responsibility.”
“Able Flight has carved out a unique place in the aviation industry, and I am truly honored and humbled to carry on that legacy of service and education to a population that may never have considered flying as possible,” he said. “The Rangers will be used for Able Flight for as long as we run the program, and we plan to use them in our training fleet for the rest of our students within the next year or so.”
In reflecting on the first Able Flight cohort, Goetz explained that there was a lot of learning for everyone. The program was “incredible,” and Goetz said he’s thrilled SIU Aviation will continue the work.
“Our Able Flight students were awesome. They overcame lots of challenges but were all successful in the end,” Goetz said. “The instructors learned how to assist those students in finding their own path toward safe aircraft operation, and each student settled on a different technique that worked for them.”