Story ID: 
Kansas Police Officers Awarded Free Ground School
By: Jerry Siebenmark
Caption: Ortega Aviation Services in Wichita has awarded ground school scholarships to nine area police officers.
Word Count: 169
Flight training, testing, and consulting company Ortega Aviation Services (OAS) has awarded private pilot ground school scholarships to nine police officers in the Wichita area. The scholarships were awarded from applications by police officers at an OAS open house held for them.

Each scholarship covers the full $525 cost of 24 hours of classroom instruction and the necessary materials for successful completion. OAS will conduct the course at its Wichita Eisenhower National Airport facility in mid-July.

“We felt that the men and women who protect our families are underappreciated,” said OAS managing member Teresa Ortega. “Our team wanted to express our appreciation with a gift of what we do best—flight training.”

Teresa and chief instructor Kirby Ortega founded OAS in 2019. The wife-and-husband duo previously served as maintenance program sales director and chief pilot for single-engine operations, respectively, at Textron Aviation/Cessna. Combined, they have more than 60 years of experience in flying, flight training, and maintenance programs in Citations, Hawkers, and Beechcraft jets.