The Aero Club of Buffalo offers the following scholarships:
The Fran Bainbridge Flight Training Scholarship
Awarded to a flight student pursuing a private pilot or higher certificate. Applicants for this scholarship must be between the ages of 17-25 and be a permanent resident or student within the WNY region as defined below. The applicant must have a Student Pilot Certificate and have soloed by the due date of the application.
The Thomas P. Kopera Post-Secondary School Tuition Assistance Scholarship
Awarded to be used toward a degree program or other training. Applicants for this scholarship must be between the ages of 17-25 and be a permanent resident or student living within the WNY region as defined below. Planning a career in the field of aviation, to include, but not limited to: A & P mechanic, aerospace engineer, airport manager, aviation educator, air traffic controller, commercial or airline pilot. This scholarship is offered to endorse and assist your efforts in pursuing your education/career in aviation. Funds awarded may be used for the purpose of related books, materials, aircraft rent and instructor time or tuition expenses.
Welcome!
We are the Aeroclub of Buffalo, NY
Founded in 1879, still celebrating Buffalo's rich aviation history to this day. You can learn more about Buffalo's aviation history, our club, and scholarships available.
This Day in Aviation HistoryUPDATE: A 2021 message from the Aeroclub President, detailing the accomplishments and difficulties of this past year! In order to renew membership, please download this form.

President Message
Dear valued member,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, healthy New Year! It's an appropriate time to reach out, introduce myself and inform you of some really exciting changes you can look forward to in the coming months.
My name is Mark Ables, I'm a Fourth-Generation military officer (retired in 2016). My Grandfather, an immigrant from Turkey, served in WWI as an Infantry Officer, my dad was an AF Pilot and educator and now, both of my sons are serving in the US Air Force, one as a pilot the other a Civil Engineering Officer. I am a retired C-130 Pilot and I now fly commercially for American Airlines out of NY on the Airbus family of aircraft. My wife, Nancy-Ann is the Assistant Principal at Amherst High School. I'm excited to take the reigns as the newest president!
When I took over as the 89th President of the Aero Club of Buffalo, one of the first things I did was poll our Board of Directors on their views. One question I asked; what is most important to you? The unanimous answer was (among a few other things); increase membership. To that end, I want to let you know of a few initiatives we are currently working on to enhance your experience and enjoyment and ultimately, increase membership.
Thanks to Jeremy Chapman, we have a FaceBook group page; Aero Club of Buffalo. Please consider following our events and notifications.
We are once again offering three scholarships; the $1500 Fran Bainbridge Flight Training Scholarship, the $1500 Thomas P. Kopera School Tuition Assistance Scholarship and the $2500 NEC/AAAE International Aviation Snow Symposium/Aero Club of Buffalo Scholarship. For further information go to our facebook page or contact Pamela Crassidis at crass@roadrunner.com.
In cooperation with the AIAA, we are proud to continue providing world-class speakers you'll be talking about weeks after our monthly dinners.
Last: We will be moving to a New Venue! Our search committee has done an exhaustive search to find a new place to meet while keeping our costs down and providing a quality experience. The February dinner will be at Rizotto Italian Eatery and Sweetery. Don't worry, the price won't change but I'm committed to providing a wonderful experience. I felt it's important for you all to know about the change ahead of the February dinner announcement. This was necessitated by the imminent closure of Protocol. The address of Rizotto is: 930 Maple Road, Williamsville, NY.
I would like to thank you in advance for your understanding and patience as we navigate these changes. As always, please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas and suggestions (use Facebook if you’re comfortable). Our goal is to make your experience wonderful!
We hope you'll decide to tell a friend.
Mark Ables
89th President, Aero Club of Buffalo
Aeroclub of Buffalo Leadership
Officers
Mark B. Ables : ablesmark@hotmail.com
Vice-PresidentRonald Franco : chariot412@msn.com
Treasurer:Dennis J. Perry : djperry65@msn.com
SecretaryThomas J. Keough : T_Keough@msn.com
Executive SecretaryMichelle Choinski : mmchoinski@yahoo.com
Historian:Suzanne S. Dietz : suzannedietz@roadrunner.com
The Board
Gerald Bainbridge
Mike Belcher
Jeremy Chapman
Pamela Crassids
John Kozinski
Arlene LoPresti
Mary Mattocks
Paul Maze
Stanley Nowak
George White
Jessica Evans
Leah Nolan
History
The present AERO CLUB OF BUFFALO traces its continuous existence to 1879 - the date the Buffalo Bicycle Club (sometimes known as the High Wheel Club) was organized, February 22, 1879. It had as active members (the local pioneers of aviation): Charles Haberer, Joseph Clody, Ed Bull, Arthur Zimmerman, Major Taylor, Frank Kramer, Reggie McNamara, Alfred Goullet, Norman Hill, (Ref: Geist - "Cycling as a Hobby" - Grovenor, Div. Erie County Library)
Other local clubs developing ballooning (and blimps) and racing pigeon interests were the Press cycling club, the Ramblers, the East Side Cyclers, and the Eldridge Club of Tonawanda. They all reached their period of greatest cycling activity in the 1880's and then turned their interests to autos while others went to the air. These cyclists constructed small blimps and used a bicycle with large propeller styled pedals to motor their way in the air. These "sky bicycles" made their appearance around Buffalo and barnstormed American cities.
Members of the Carrier Pigeon Club of Buffalo were more interested in the antics of Otto Lilienthal, a German, than they were in John. J. Montgomery, an American, who in 1883 with his brother as an assistant, made his first gliding attempt. Montgomery's first craft was patterned after a seagull, its wings had a downward slope and a considerable length. Lilienthal's early attempts were along the lines of wings, which when attached to the arms of the aeronaut and whipped madly back and forth it was hoped, would take the enthusiast soaring like a bird, into the air. These early attempts were doomed to failure.
In 1891, Lilienthal's attention was directed to the construction of a biplane glider - an affair made of peeled willow saplings and cotton cloth, waxed to make it air tight. The glider was so designed that it provided armrests to assist the flier. To Lilienthal, must go credit for the first successful soaring attempts; Montgomery, it will be remembered, had merely glided.
During this period there were trials and failures to fly by the most adventurous of the Carrier Pigeon Club of Buffalo but it was for Wilbur and Orville Wright of Dayton, Ohio to persevere. Historians note the pursuits of these two brothers in reading avidly accounts of Lilienthal's gliding and soaring experiences in German, and studying with peculiar fascination, Marey's "Animal Mechanization of Flight in the Animal Kingdom."
On the occasion of the golden anniversary of the first regular meeting of the AERO CLUB, the late John W. Van Allen, a former president and "dean" of the AERO CLUB of Buffalo, Inc., recalled that the founders of the club, sparked by the late John M. Satterfield started regular meetings in 1900. A few years later the group received its charter as the first U.S. AERO CLUB Chapter from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale of France, making it the oldest aero club in America, second oldest in the world.
On July 2, 1900 the Automobile Club of Buffalo was organized, and shared its club rooms in the Hotel Lennox (North Street) with a dozen air enthusiasts headed by John. M. Satterfield as their president. They were the charter members of the present AERO CLUB of Buffalo. One of the exploits of the AERO CLUB preincorporation enthusiasts was the 1906 flight of the first dirigible over Buffalo.
"Every street car on Main Street was stopped and all the children were let out of school to watch it. For two hours you couldn't get a telephone connection because everybody was at the windows."
"After a few years as a group it combined with another group and incorporated under the laws of the State of New York on March 29, 1910. I am enclosing a copy of the Certificate of Incorporation, paragraph Second of which outlines under the title of "PURPOSES", the objects of the group. In the Certificate of Incorporation you will find the names of the original incorporaters which represented the most active members of the original group, all prominent men of Buffalo at the time." From a letter dated December 16, 1953 by John W. Van Allen to Gordon W. Campbell.
Scholarship FAQ
Funding is determined yearly. Funded has ranged from $1500 to $2500 per scholarship.
To be eligible for consideration, candidates must reside in or be a student in one of the following counties: Niagara, Erie, Genesee, Wyoming, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Monroe, Livingston, Allegany, Wayne, Ontario, Yates, Seneca, and Schuyler.
Funding for these scholarships is generously supported by the Aero Club of Buffalo Members.
Forms are revised yearly, and new forms will be listed mid-January 2021.
All scholarships will be awarded at the Niagara Aerospace Museum’s Hall of Fame Dinner to be held May 2021.
Please contact Co-Chair Pamela Crassidis at crass@roadrunner.com
Apparel
We have Aeroclub of Buffalo apparel available! Here is the order form so you can get your own ACOB apparel!




Contact
You can reach us at:
AERO CLUB OF BUFFALO
P.O. Box 676
Buffalo, NY 14231
716-710-9350
aeroclubofbuffalo@gmail.com