News & Events

Cordell Walker, Hillsboro Aviation CFI, Awarded Scholarship

The Doug Doty Vertical Flight Foundation and Hillsboro Aviation are pleased to announce this year's recipient of the Doug Doty Memorial Scholarship for Turbine Transition, Cordell Walker.

The Doug Doty Vertical Flight Foundation teamed up with Hillsboro Aviation to offer the non-profit foundation’s first Bell 206B3 JetRanger Scholarship. The purpose of this scholarship is to help helicopter pilots advance to the next level in their training and make positive contributions to the aviation industry.

This was a very difficult decision to make as our finalists all exhibited strong qualities as pilots as well as people. The dedication and work ethic of these finalists were outstanding and our selection committee, made up of both members of DDVFF and Hillsboro Aviation as well as members of the community not directly related to either organization, had some tough decisions.

Currently, Cordell is a CFI for Hillsboro Aviation and through the scholarship application process Cordell set himself above the rest and showed that he truly is dedicated to his dreams of flying, pursuing a life-long career as a helicopter pilot and giving back to the community.

While a senior in high school, Cordell received a $2,000 scholarship towards his helicopter training. In April of 2008, Cordell received his Private Pilot Certificate and started his commercial training. After he completed the Robinson Safety Course, he went back down to California to complete a Helicopter Police Pilot Program with Blue Sky Aviation of Tulare, CA. During this program he assisted in finding a missing child as well as provided over-watch for high risk arrest warrants.  From this training and his assistance in finding a missing child, Cordell was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for aerial search and assistance in finding the autistic missing child.

After completing this program, he returned to Hillsboro Aviation to finish his commercial training and received his Commercial Pilot Certificate in March of 2009. He then started training for his CFI and received this certification on September 10, 2009. Since receiving his CFI Rating he continued on at Hillsboro as a Flight Line Service Technician until he was hired as a CFI in February 2010. He continues training students for Hillsboro Aviation as well as working for their contract and charter department on various jobs including agricultural work.

Making a difference in his community by eventually getting into law enforcement, where he would like to pursue setting up a law enforcement air unit in Washington County, is Cordell's long-term goal. Through this scholarship, we hope that this will give him the edge to get to the next step in his training in turbine helicopters and help him on his way in making a difference in his community and following his passion.

The Doug Doty Vertical Flight Foundation will be announcing additional scholarships available for applications in the next month. These scholarships will be open to all individuals meeting the minimum requirements and may be used at their current training facility, including international locations.

For more information about the foundation, please visit www.verticalflight.org