Carson High sophomore awarded $10,000 EAA scholarship to take his dream to the skies
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Sun, 05/09/2021 - 6:05am
Carson High School Sophomore, Spenser Bray, knew from an early age that he would be an engineer and aviator. Spenser spent hours and days in his garage experimenting with his fascination with design and flight.
Through designing and flying gliders, then moving into RC design, Spenser learned to understand the physics of flight as a remote pilot. Spenser joined the local High Sierra RC Club (HSRCC), which maintains the RC airport in Carson City; its members took Spenser “under their wing” and provided him with resources, equipment, and guidance to better understand aerodynamics of an aircraft and how to pilot it.
When Spenser was 12, he fulfilled a dream thanks to Carson City Airports local Experimental Aircraft Association, EAA403 Sierra Chapter, who operates the Young Eagles Program. Spenser’s first flight was with a pilot who was formerly a NASA engineer and Navy pilot, George Clary, who became Spenser’s inspiration. George took him in his Cessna Skymaster as his co-pilot and knew Spenser was ready to take control of the Cessna through certain stages of flight.
Beyond the maiden flight, Spenser had the opportunity to fly with other EAA403 seasoned aviators with thousands of hours of flight experience. Spenser was hooked and joined the EAA403 family in 2019, volunteering his services to help with the Young Eagles Program.
Members of Carson City’s EAA403 Sierra Chapter volunteer their time and resources (It costs a pilot minimum $200 for just one flight, not including their time and maintenance) to operate the Young Eagles program, paused in 2020. The EAA403 Sierra Chapter and the National EAA aspire to help children fulfill their dream of a flight career. Spenser will assist the EAA403 with social media and other areas of need as a requirement of the scholarship that will pay for him to earn his pilot certification. He feels strongly about the mission statement of EAA403: “To Inspire, Motivate, Teach, and Train individuals, so that the aviation challenge of the future can be met with Skill, Talent, and Knowledge.”
The EAA403 is a priority for Spenser, but he continues to expand his horizons. He plays violin for CHS Chamber Orchestra, Carson City Symphony’s Strazz, is a sponsored Mountain Bike cyclist and rides on the Senator Cycling Team. He is employed at The Bike Smith on Carson Street. The Bike Smith helps him pursue his love of mountain biking and enables him to save for his first airplane. You can follow Spenser on Instagram @spens_lorenze and @the_bike_smith.
Spenser will enter the Jump Start college program at WNC as a CHS junior, then apply to the College of Engineering at UNR after graduation. Once he completes his degree at UNR, he plans to join the Navy with more pilots than any of the armed forces. His aviation career goal is to land a job as a Commercial airline pilot. He said a job as a pilot for private industry aircraft is an option, but he wants to learn how to fly large passenger aircraft. Next time you see a small aircraft fly over our city from the Carson City Airport, look up and wave. That may be EAA403 member Spenser in the cockpit. Or follow Spenser on Instagram @eaachapter403, Facebook, or https://eaa403.org.
