By Angela Satterlee
EAA Chapter 1116 is honoring the legacy of longtime EAA member, Young Eagles volunteer pilot, and Chapter 1116 treasurer Martin (Marty) Davidow, EAA 665941, by giving back to the next generation of aviation mechanics and it hopes other chapters will follow its lead.
After Marty’s death, his wife, Betty, requested that friends and family donate to the chapter in lieu of flowers. The response exceeded expectations, and Sid Burks, EAA 1157852, an EAA Chapter 1116 leader, suggested that the funds go toward helping A&P students. Marty built two airplanes and was an engineer, Sid explained, so that’s what made the most sense.
Now each year, both the Davidow family and the chapter award a $2,000 scholarship to a student at Chaffey College’s A&P program — one of the oldest and most respected in California. The funds cover the FAA-required practical and written exams, plus essential textbooks. “In California, low-income students can get grants and financial aid, but what they can’t get it for is the FAA required practical and written exams,” Sid explained. “A lot of these kids were not able to graduate [or] able to get their A&P because they couldn’t afford the tests to pay the examiner and the fees.”
“Most people don’t realize that the mechanic shortage is probably as bad or worse than the pilot shortage,” Sid added. “And there’s a lot of kids in college that are just having real hard time coming up with the money to meet all the expenses.”
So far, Chapter 1116 has awarded three scholarships and plans to give two more this school year.
Program requirements for awardees of the Martin Davidow Aviation Maintenance Student Scholarship include:
- Full-time student under the age of 21.
- Residents of the Coachella Valley to receive preference.
- Recommendation from a program instructor.
- Grade point average of B or better for all courses within the program.
Sid hopes this model will inspire other chapters to adopt similar programs with small colleges in their own regions. “We encourage other chapters to support their local A&P program by donating a scholarship,” he said. “We’re happy to do anything we can to make that happen.”
To make it easy for other chapters, Chapter 1116 will provide a commemorative plaque for each recipient, listing the student’s name and the contributing chapter’s details. They also will help with logistics, though Sid stresses that contributions should go directly to the participating chapters’ college of choice, not to Chapter 1116.
Interested chapters can reach out to Sid Burks at burks6984@gmail.com or the chapter president Frank Brabec, EAA 602786, at eaachap1116@gmail.com for more information or guidance on starting their own program.