Dr. Gary Fellows – BASF Plant Health Technical Services Manager – says America needs more qualified aerial applicators. He says scholarships from BASF and the National Agricultural Aviation Association provide students with the opportunity to receive the education they need to enter the field. Justin Mook of Colorado and Kippy Foltyn of North Dakota were awarded NAAA/BASF Agricultural Aviation Scholarships of five-thousand dollars and 25-hundred dollars respectively. These scholarships are the product of a partnership between BASF and NAAA – a partnership that aims to build the future of aerial application. NAAA Executive Director Andrew Moore says the Agricultural Aviation Scholarship has helped ensure the pipeline remains well stocked with competent and capable professional ag pilots.

Mook has a private pilot’s license and is pursuing his commercial license. After he completes his current program at a helicopter flight school in Colorado Springs – he hopes to begin his agricultural pilot training. Foltyn attended Ag Flight Pilot Training LLC in Bainbridge, Georgia. He plans to continue his education and become an aerial applicator.