Gliding Queensland

President's Scholarship  

01-Apr-10

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 Caboolture teen’s dreams soar sky high

   HEAD IN THE CLOUDS: Blake Furey is training to be a pilot.

"All I want to do is fly".

With those words, Caboolture teenager Blake Furey sealed a scholarship with the Queensland Gliding Federation and began his dream of a life in the skies.

The 15-year-old also started at Brisbane’s aerospace school of excellence, Aviation High at Hendra, this year and will balance his studies there with the scholarship.
The great-grandson of a World War II RAAF engineer, Blake has already taken the controls of a training aircraft in an assisted flight at the Caboolture Gliding Club where he will study for his scholarship to obtain a solo gliding pilot’s licence.

"I was a lot calmer at the controls than I thought I would be" he said. "I just think the history of aircraft is amazing, there is such a large change in design and performance in such a short amount of time." Mum Melissa surprised Blake with news of his scholarship by buying him a birthday flight in a glider last month.
"When I got down they told me I had got the scholarship and I was speechless. I couldn’t believe it" he said. "Without the scholarship I would have had a very interrupted learning process, but now I can go right ahead and get my licence."

Blake spent much of his childhood learning about aircraft from his great-grandfather, who worked with Lancaster bombers.

(Blake is the first recipient of Gliding Queensland's new introduced President's Scholarship)