At its annual Whirly-Girls Awards Banquet on Saturday, the international women helicopter pilots organization presented 2011 scholarships totaling more than $50,000 to eight women. The scholarships were as follows:

·      American Eurocopter Flight Training–Michelle Bostick, of Lithia, Fla., for an AS350 turbine helicopter transition course.

·      Robinson Helicopter Safety Course–Tara Sturm, of Seattle, Wash., for a 3.5-day R22/R44 safety course.

·      Whirly-Girls Helicopter Flight Training–Tracy Ellen Zedeck, of Kensington, Calif., for $6,000 for her helicopter add-on rating.

·      Whirly-Girls Memorial Flight Training–Deborah Moseley, of Homer, Alaska, for $6,000 toward an advanced helicopter rating. In memory of Whirly-Girls founder Jean Ross Howard Phelan and her husband Jim, and Doris Mullen.

·      Advanced Mountain Flight Training–Jennifer Bartley, of Salt Lake City, Utah, for a three-day mountain-flying course at Western Helicopters.

·      FlightSafety International–Laura McIlrath, of N. Andover, Mass., for instrument proficiency, recurrent and inadvertent-IMC training using a Bell 206 Level 7 FTD.

·      Judy Short Memorial–Rochelle Lee Arias, of Oceanside, Calif., for a flight instructor rating and $5,000 toward an instrument or CFII. Scholarship sponsored by Nancy Graham.

·      Survival Systems–Buffy Stevenson, of Las Vegas, Nev., for a ditching course at Survival Systems, Groton, Conn.

Formed in 1955, the Whirly-Girls has 1,683 members in 41 countries and is dedicated to advancing professionalism in helicopters while providing women helicopter pilots a forum for the exchange of information and opportunities. The scholarship program aims to help women helicopter pilots achieve their aviation goals.