The Hooley Scholarship
Lance and Janet Hooley
Lance Hooley has taken the path less traveled to get where he is today.
His love for aviation dates back to his teenage years, before he even learned to drive. Lance began flying lessons at age 14, paying for lessons from his paper route and lawn mowing. At 16, two days before his driver’s license exam, he rode his bike to the airport to make his first solo flight.
During high school Lance’s career-guidance experiences were less than perfect; he didn’t receive any direction from his parents or counselors regarding college or aviation. “I didn’t know that I needed to go to college or how, or why, so I didn’t go.” said Lance.
One person that did help Lance during the beginning of his flight career was Lee Richardson, the owner of the fixed-based operation at the airport where Lance first learned to fly. He saw in Lance a natural pilot ability and a drive that just wouldn’t quit. “He bent over backwards to allow me at the airport to work for him,” added Lance. “He really went the extra mile in teaching me how to fly.”
Lee gave Lance the initial lessons he needed to get his dreams off the ground. After high school, Lance enlisted in the Air Force in order to get the GI Bill to pay for his flying lessons. There, he worked his way up to get his multi-engine commercial flight instructor license and left the Air Force shortly after. He continued working assorted pilot jobs including flight instruction, crop dusting and a freight position. “The flying-by-night freight job could scare the hell out of you,” said Lance. “I had to quit.”
Leaving his position as a freight pilot led him to a commuter job with an Atlanta-based commuter airline where he began flying turbo-props – which was hard work and little pay, spending what he expressed as 25 years in basic poverty. However, he eventually landed his dream – flying the bigger airplanes.
For the last 33 years Lance has been a pilot. “What other job can I do where 156 people sit behind me in a $54 million dollar, state-of-the-art jet and I get paid to do it,” questioned Lance in regard to his love of flight. “Six-and-a-half hours later and I’ve gone from New York to California.”
Lance’s hobby is his job. He and his wife Janet’s passion for aviation and education is what led them to create the Hooley Scholarship through EAA. “I like the emphasis EAA puts on achieving your goal,” said Lance. “EAA gives you the avenue to find out how you can become a professional pilot.”
Many times though, as Lance and Janet learned personally, it takes significant funding to pursue the level of education needed to achieve one’s goals. Lack of money or support can often be an obstacle to learning. Lance and Janet didn’t want other college-aged youth to have the same obstacles. “To educate young people is very important,” said Janet, who worked her own way through college. “The next generation needs to be educated.”
The Hooleys believe the only difference one can make in life is how they affect someone else. Their scholarship supports one or more aviation students by covering the costs of flying, tuition, room and board and has the option of annual renewal if the student remains in good academic standing. In the end, they believe it will help society as a whole.
Lance’s career experiences have shown him that:
“Those with a college education appear to have a more diverse way of thinking. They are open-minded, which ties directly to being a good pilot. If someone doesn’t have to worry about money, they can concentrate on learning how to fly. That’s the goal.”
The couple doesn’t have any children to pass their assets on to, and are insistent that the government already gets its share. They feel EAA is the right organization and both appreciate the free flow of information EAA supports. “When I go to Oshkosh AirVenture, there is nothing classified,” said Lance. “All I have to do is ask somebody how they did something and the information flows … even the vendors will take the time to show you. Nothing is off limits on how to build airplanes.”
In addition, Lance enjoys the amount of advocacy EAA practices. “When it comes to a fight, they are the first ones to stand up.” said Lance. The Hooley’s also believe in EAA’s promotion of aviation education. In order to expand the horizons of youth, they need to have information at their fingertips.
The Hooley Scholarship is what giving wings is all about. “When I was 19,” remembers Lance, “I knew everything. Now since I’m older, I’m hoping I’m wise enough to recognize youth will need some assistance.”
Lance Hooley
“It’s a disease, and the Wright Brothers are to blame. I can’t define it or explain it why pilots are addicted to flying. If I’m on the ground more than a week, I go through withdrawal.”