AFAP & AAPMBF Scholarships

Aviation has been an obsession for University of South Australia (Uni of SA) final-year Bachelor of Aviation student Anthony King for as long as he can remember.

“Growing up I built, flew and occasionally crashed model planes, played with every flight simulator released by Microsoft, and went to every air show I could.”

His interest in piloting was sparked when he first flew an aircraft aged 13 as part of a trial introductory flight. A Private Pilot Licence followed in 2017 and his enthusiasm has not wavered since.

“It’s a wonderful thing that the more I get involved in aviation, and the more I study it, the more I love it, says Anthony. “I am incredibly keen to have flying as my career as it’s something I doubt I’ll ever get sick of and will always enjoy.”

Winning an AFAP & MBF scholarship has boosted Anthony’s confidence and is “incredibly empowering and a great source of pride” while it also recognises his dedication to his studies and flying lessons.

“The financial support has also been fantastic. As I’m a self-supporting university student, every dollar helps, especially with a degree as expensive as this,” says Anthony.

“With hundreds of dollars required for textbooks, aviation charts and publications, and equipment, the support this scholarship has provided has been a huge relief financially and also mentally.”

The $3000 scholarship has allowed Anthony to focus more on his studies and flying resulting in higher grades.

He recently passed the CASA Instrument Exam (IREX) with a 91% and credits this result “in part due to the support the AFAP and MBF scholarship has provided”.

Close to obtaining his Commercial Pilots Licence, Anthony expects to complete all his university studies and progress his flying to gain a Multi-engine Command Instrument Rating (MECIR) by November this year.

Flight training with the Uni of SA is delivered in partnership with Flight Training Adelaide at Parafield airport and Anthony is flying as much as he possibly can.

“During busy periods, especially when coming up to a module check flight, I can be flying almost every day. I’ve had a few times where I’ve had a flight in the morning, followed by an Instrument Flying simulator session, then followed by a second flight to end the day.”

Anthony has already been accepted into the Qantas Future Pilot Program at the Uni of SA. This program mentors promising students for entry into Qantas.

While Anthony’s plans include obtaining an instructor rating and instructing, then ultimately ending up flying for Qantas, he remains open to opportunities.

"I love the idea of being the person who safely flies people to their holiday destinations, and then back home again,” says Anthony.

Through the New Wings program, the AFAP and AAP MBF jointly fund annual scholarships to the value of $3000 for student pilots at seven Australian universities