The Nick Davidson Memorial 

Flying Scholarship

DAVNOB was delighted to receive the following information from Alina:

You may recall that when Nick died he asked to run a flying scholarship in his name, he wanted to give someone the opportunity to benefit from flying in the same way he had. Together with Nick’s good friend Gary we ran the scholarship the first year and we were both so fulfilled by it that we decided to run it again. This second year has been an overwhelming success. I’d like to note that this is all down to his friend Gary who has run the entire program, I just funded it. Our candidate, Steven Inch, passed his exam with flying colors and we just recently found out that he has now been accepted to the RAF. This excerpt of a letter he sent to the press person at Biggin Hill brought me to tears….

On Tuesday 28th July I received a telephone call from the Officers and Aircrew Selection Center whereby Squadron Leader Mace delivered some very exciting news. He said that he will be selecting me into the RAF as a pilot! I am currently awaiting the official word in writing as they are unsure of which Initial Officer Training (IOT) course I will be placed on, however it will either be October or January.

As I said to Gary and to Judy, this news is incredible. It is the flying career I had been pursuing for many years unsuccessfully until I was fortunate to be selected by Gary to receive Nick's Memorial Flying Scholarship. I am certain that without the support of Nick's scholarship, I would not have achieved the same result. This year I managed to achieve a very competitive score and in the post-test review, the boarding officer asked me what I had done in the last year since my previous test. I promptly responded with, "I have been training for my PPL through the Nick Davidson Memorial Flying Scholarship at Biggin Hill". He was very impressed and I believe that my flying training with Judy has made all the difference to my score and subsequently my overall application.

I am elated to have been given this news and I agree that this is a huge success for Nick's Memorial Flying Scholarship. As soon as I have it in writing from RAF Cranwell, I am more than happy to assist you with a further press release.

Alina also passed on the exciting news that the Scholarship will be continuing, and that she and Gary are hoping to turn it into a formal charity. The whole family wish them every success with the Scholarship, and we all feel that this is a wonderful tribute to Nick's memory. 

Incidentally, for those who don't know, Alina has been posting a fascinating and beautiful blog, which can be found by clicking here.