Previous Winners and Reports

WG#1357 Sherri Spagnola
WG#1782 Cristina Gonzalez Odriozola
WG#1363 Sabine Buehlmann
Scholarship Recipients 2009
Scholarship Recipients 2013
Scholarship Recipients 2016
Scholarship Recipients 2017
Scholarship Recipients 2018

Scholarship History

History of the Whirly-Girls Scholarship Fund

Initiated in 1968 in memory of WG#84 Doris Mullen, a dedicated and professional pilot who lost her life in a fixed-wing aircraft accident, the scholarship program has grown from one single $500 scholarship to a range of scholarships valued in excess of $150,000 in recent years.

The Whirly-Girls Scholarship Fund, Inc., (WGSF) was incorporated in 1974 to oversee and administer the scholarship funds raised by the Whirly-Girls and its Associate Membership (formerly the Auxiliary), and is a federally tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity.

The scholarships are funded through donations, sponsors, proceeds from the Whirly-Girls merchandise booth and silent auction at HAI HELI-EXPO, and the efforts of Whirly-Girls volunteers and Associate members.

Scholarship Winners Since the 1960s

Advanced Mountain Flight Training Scholarship

In loving memory of WG#1339 Keiko Minakata; Flight training sponsored by WG#4, Nancy Livingston Stratford;

Ground training sponsored by Western Helicopters, Inc.

2009 – WG#548 Terri Watson
2010 – WG#1387 Margaret West
2011 – WG#1523 Jennifer Bartley
2012 – WG#1498 Susie Nguyen
2013 – WG#1715 Adele Dobler
2014 – WG#1724 Sarah Raffaelli
2015 – WG#1509 Katrina Hallgren
2016 – WG#1806 Esther Cranga
2017 – WG#1850 Melissa Wnorowski
2018 – WG#1952 Renate Buchner
2019 – WG#1772 Ronnie Bogart
2020 – WG#1877 Melissa Hanthorn Shantz

Agricultural Air Services Flight Training Scholarship

Sponsored by Agricultural Air Services, formerly P&S Agricultural Services

In loving memory of Karen Johnson, WG#1520

2014 – WG#914 Joanna Gollin
2015 – WG#1816 Jessica Martin
2016 – WG#1866 Ashlyn Parker

Airbus Helicopters Flight Training Scholarship

Sponsored by Airbus Helicopters, formerly American Eurocopter

2001 – WG#1118 Fiona McKee
2002 – WG#1136 Paula Lacey
2003 – WG#890 Rikke Carmichael
2004 – WG#548 Terri Watson
2005 – WG#1260 Stacia Reinhardt
2006 – WG#586 Georgina Hunter-Jones
2007 – WG#1123 Carol Herlihy
2008 – WG#1398 Kate Winder
2009 – WG#1409 Tiffany Cobb Till
2010 – WG#1543 Kristie Lynn Ellis
2011 – WG#1394 Michelle Bostick
2012 – WG#1611 Kelly Anderson
2013 – WG#1566 Buffy Stevenson
2014 – WG#1238 Jana Tobias
2015 – WG#1363 Sabine Buehlmann
2016 – WG#1835 Sarah Smith-Dufton
2017 – WG#1133 Cathleen Perdok
2018 – WG#1964 Maria Metcalf
2019 – WG#1764 Holley Gardel

Airbus Helicopters Inadvertent IMC Training Scholarship

Reports from Scholarship Recipients

Whirly-Girls Scholarship Winner – Survival Systems USA Ditching Course

By WG#1357 Sherri Spagnola

I would like to extend my deepest and most humble gratitude to the Whirly-Girls, Survival Systems USA, and all involved in affording me the opportunity to attend the Aviation Survival and Egress Training Course (ASET2) in September. It was truly an amazing experience. I will carry with me the information and training I received for the remainder of my career.

I was a bit nervous in the weeks leading up to the course but both my nervousness and concern were unnecessary and quickly dispelled.

The staff greeted us warmly immediately upon our arrival. The atmosphere at the facility was both casual and energetic. Our instructor, Dan McInnis, is well versed on the subject matter and has a terrific ability to present the necessary material while keeping the participants engaged and the learning environment light. Dan and the entire staff at Survival Systems USA worked effortlessly together and were with each of us every step of the way to ensure our understanding, comfort, and safety.

Our two-day course was packed with information as well as a variety of activities and scenarios to test our individual and collective abilities. Allowing for flexibility to customize your training to suit your personal career path is one added advantage. After we successfully mastered the required tasks on the first day, they increased the difficulty of the scenarios and requirements to create even more life-like situations. The second day’s activities expanded our knowledge while encouraging us to grow both as individuals and as colleagues within the field of aviation.

Participating in team-building activities along with more demanding individual tasks concluded our training regimen. This simulated training is as realistic as you can get without actually being there. From the information presented, the sights, sounds, and feel of being there to performing under authentic yet safe conditions, the entire experience far exceeded my expectations.

Realizing that learning is mostly retained by utilizing both discussion and hands-on participation, Survival Systems USA certainly knows how to prepare and guide their students. I am both onoured and privileged to have been afforded participation in this amazing course. Thank you to the Whirly-Girls Scholarship Fund and to Survival Systems USA for this incredible learning opportunity. I am forever grateful.

Airbus Scholarship in the AS350 Helicopter

By WG#1363 Sabine Buehlmann

To attend the Airbus Helicopters AS350 factory training is a once-in-a-lifetime chance and who would ever want to miss that? This year, I had the great pleasure of being the 2015 Whirly-Girls scholarship recipient for this turbine transition. The training I received at Airbus Helicopters at the Grand Prairie, Texas, facility in June is the most thorough and sophisticated training program I have ever attended.

After being an active Whirly-Girl for many years, attending HELI-EXPOs and helping with the booth setup and sales, I was more than happy that one of my numerous scholarship applications was finally selected. Honestly, this taught me the valuable lesson of preparation plus persistence leading to pure joy. My advice is to never stop applying for scholarships because the Whirly-Girls career support is truly amazing!

The course started with three full days of theoretical training plus an exam, and a very thorough preflight of an AS350B3e. The B3 class challenged participants, as it covered all information ranging from the B2 model to the B3e, distinguishing between variations in power plant, limitations, hydraulic systems and other features.

Those who are familiar with this helicopter know why it is also nicknamed the “squirrel,” since hovering and landing can be somewhat edgy in ground effect. My instructor, WG#1138 Gina Guthrie (who is also from Germany), was very cool about this fact as she has already met many pilots who find it difficult to transition to the AS350.

The best day without any doubt was the flight in the B2 with single hydraulics as well as another B3e flight in the afternoon. The highlights of the week were the autorotations and other emergency procedures.

This week was one of the most valuable training weeks I have ever had in my helicopter career. I am now working on getting the training credited as a European EASA type rating. I am extremely thankful to both the Whirly-Girls and Airbus Helicopters for providing this scholarship. I will continue to help spread the word for helicopter pilots, especially girls, to join and support the Whirly-Girls and keep the rotor RPM in the green!

One Whirly–Girl’s Scholarship NVG Training Experience at Aviation Specialties Unlimited – 2015

By WG#1782 Cristina Gonzalez

My experience at Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) was fantastic. The staff at ASU was very welcoming and friendly. Justin Watlington was in charge of my training and went above and beyond during my time there and made the training informative, efficient and fun with his stories and sense of humor.

I learned all the basics about night vision goggles, their uses and their capabilities. My favorite part was the hands-on training flying a Bell 206 Jet Ranger. That first night I was pretty nervous considering I had very little experience flying a turbine helicopter and no experience flying a Jet Ranger. On top of that I was learning to fly it while using NVGs and a movable searchlight for the first time, and it made the beginning of that lesson feel like the first day of flight school. I was also wearing a helmet for the first time and that made me feel pretty cool, although I later saw a picture of myself and realized I looked like an excited kid playing dress-up. Mr. Watlington made the training fun and active and there was so much to learn and practice that there was never a boring second.

Flying with NVGs was pretty surreal at first, in that it’s amazing how little we actually see when flying unaided night VFR. It seems like we are flying blind without goggles. Now, when flying to a new location at night, I feel like I wouldn’t want to fly without NVGs after this experience.

This scholarship has helped me get a small taste of what flying with military technology will be like. I owe this thank you to the Whirly-Girls and ASU for offering these amazing scholarship opportunities to members.

2014 Robinson Safety Course Scholarship Winner

By WG#1771 Madeline VonBokel

I was granted the 2014 Robinson Safety Course Scholarship from the Whirly-Girls. This included classroom training and a flight with one of the many talented Robinson instructors. I could not contain my excitement so by the time I arrived in Torrance, California, 11 months later, I was ready to learn.

I am a flight instructor in St. Louis, Missouri, at Midwest Helicopters where I fly Robinson R22s and R44s daily. This course was full of a lot of information that will definitely benefit me. There was so much information to take in, and the instructors were so knowledgeable that I don’t know if there was anything they didn’t know about the aircraft.

My flight training was done in the R44, and I flew with two very talented and experienced pilots. I learned so much from both of them. In St. Louis there are not many hills or mountains like there are in California, so one of the instructors took me up into the mountains for a flight I will never forget.

I was also shown other maneuvers that helped me get a better understanding of the aircraft. I cannot give enough thanks to the Whirly-Girls and Robinson Helicopters. This has been a truly great experience.