NZALPA Contingency Fund Trust A-Cat Scholarship

What is the NZALPA Contingency Fund Trust?

The NZALPA Contingency Fund Trust (CFT) is a fund established in September 2004 by the board and membership of the Air Line Pilots’ Association in the wake of the Ansett 703 Dash 8 accident of 1995 and the demise of Ansett NZ in 2000. Both these occurrences highlighted to the Pilots’ Association the need for significant financial reserves in the event of unforeseen events. Since then the CFT is a trust that has grown and now owns the Pilots’ Association building and holds cash reserves contributed by members over the years.

The CFT has broad discretion to provide protection and assistance for groups and individual NZALPA members when unforeseen ‘contingencies’ occur. One area that the Trustees see a need is the provision of support to our members in General Aviation, a section of our membership that has grown over the years to over 10% of total membership. As a result we are delighted to offer an annual scholarship to the New Zealand General Aviation (GA) community that provides financial assistance to NZALPA members who wish to upgrade their current ‘B’ Category Instructor rating to an ‘A’ Category rating, (either aeroplane or helicopter). It is our hope that this will become a cherished annual scholarship to our membership.

The funding will cover the cost of the Aviation Services Ltd (ASL) flight test fee plus the costs of training up to a total of $5,000, (inclusive of the ASL fee). The successful candidate will be an individual respected within the GA community and committed to enhancing education and training within aviation.

Eligibility Requirements, (refer to Terms and Conditions for full details):

Hold a current New Zealand ‘B’ Category Instructor rating.
Have been an NZALPA member for at least six months at the time that applications close.
Be currently active in GA and be able to demonstrate a continued desire to contribute to education and training in aviation.
Have the necessary experience and competency to train for and complete the qualification within twelve months of receiving the scholarship.

If you're interested in applying for the scholarship, please contact the office on (09) 255-1500, click here to email the office or download the application form here.

2011 Recipient

The 2011 recipient of the NZALPA CFT Scholarship is Rob Anderson from Auckland. Rob was selected from the candidates after being interviewed in Auckland by Neil Scott, Ross Crawford and Mike Hall, and intends sitting his A Cat in the few months. Rob currently instructs at Ardmore and flies for the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust. It is believed that the addition of an A Cat helicopter instructor at Ardmore will bring large benefits to the aviation community who will be able to learn off Rob’s experience and instruction.

2010 Recipient

The inaugural recipient of the A-Cat Scholarship was Michael Stonestreet who receives $5,000 to upgrade from a ‘B’ Category Instructor rating to an ‘A’ Category rating. As of March 2011, Michael has passed his flight tests for his 'A' Category Instructor Rating.

Michael is the CFI and Operations Manager at Air Hawkes Bay and has been flying for 27 years ( 9 professionally). Michael was one of a number of applicants was selected from those interviewed by Ross Crawford (retired Air NZ 747 Captain and active instructor ), Neil Scott (Helicopter and Aeroplane A Cat and testing officer ) and Mike Hall (Wellington Rescue Helicopter Base Manager).