After 200 expressions of interest, two winners have been found for the new aviation fixed wing scholarships that were launched in July 2025, by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots’ Association of New Zealand Charitable Trust (AOPA NZ Trust). Trustees were delighted with the quality and number of applications for each scholarship – for the PPL we had 45 and for the CPL we had 8.
Winner of the AOPA NZ Trust PPL Scholarship ($5000), is Nelson school pupil, Charlie Bryce, who works part-time to pay for his flying. Involved with the Motueka Aero Club Young Eagles, he was taken on a few flights with other Aeroclub members. He recently met with a flight instructor and an Air New Zealand pilot for career advice and mentoring.
His referees stated that “Charlie consistently demonstrates a strong work ethic and seeks to be a positive role model to his peers. Charlie has many of the attributes needed to be a good pilot and the motivation to achieve this goal. Charlie is what I call a ‘thinking pilot.’ He uses his head to make clear judgements and is always critiquing his flying, trying to set a high standard.”
Winner of the AOPA NZ Trust CPL Scholarship ($7500) is Karen Dalldorf of Christchurch. Karen started her PPL at Bridge Pa – working full-time, studying and dealing with Covid lockdowns. A couple of weeks after gaining her PPL she represented the Club at the Flying New Zealand Cook Strait Regional Rally in Wanganui and her competition flying began. She achieved a 1st in the Newman Cup for Female Precision Circuits and Landing and a 2nd in the Airwork Cup for PPL Low Flying. When she moved to Christchurch she joined the Canterbury Aero Club (CAC) and became part of their competition team, achieving a 1st in the Newman Cup at the Alpine Regional Rally in 2024, which meant a trip to Nationals in Hawkes Bay in 2025, where she gained 2nd place.
Karen was part of the West Melton team who won the CAC Inter-branch competition in 2025 and she was awarded the Aroha Clifford Memorial Cup by the CAC for Airmanship by a Woman Pilot. She was also awarded an Aspeq Scholarship for CPL exams by the NZ Airwomen’s Association.
Her referee stated: “Karen has a high drive to achieve and a passion for aviation and goals and her love of flying and the aviation industry shines through in every aspect of her journey. Her compassion, combined with her strong work ethic and ability to stay focussed under pressure, makes her an outstanding candidate for this scholarship, who, in my opinion, will become an inspirational role model and instructor in the future.”