DSU aviation program receives $100K donation

(L-R) Lt. Col (Ret.) Michael Hales, aviation program director, University President Tony Allen, and Bob and Karen Fischer, hold a display check representing a $100,000 donation in support of the program. The Fischer gift is the largest cash donation to the university’s Aviation Program in its 36-year history. | PHOTO COURTESY OF DSU

DOVER – A retired United Airlines pilot and his wife has translated their admiration of Delaware State University’s Aviation Program into a $100,000 personal donation in support of the flight training.

Bob and Karen Fischer, of Lewes, presented DSU President Tony Allen with the $100,000 check during a luncheon in their honor at the university on June 22.

Bob Fischer is a retired 34-year pilot who flew 24 years for United Airlines and 10 years for the now-defunct Pan Am Airlines. Karen Fischer is a retired employee benefits manager for Winerthur Museum, Garden and Library in northern Delaware.

The money has been donated for the general overall support of the Aviation’s Program’s needs, which will include:

• Assisting the program’s initial certified flight instructor students with their check ride fees.
• The installation of new cubicles at the aviation program’s section at the Delaware Airpark.
• The painting of the inside of the terminal building where the university does maintenance on its planes.

The Fischer gift is the largest cash donation in the 36-year history of the university’s aviation program.

The Fischers were introduced to the program and its director, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Michael Hales, by Hans Riegle, a university alumnus, former aviation program flight instructor, and a current United Airlines pilot.