Major Stephen “Cajun” Del Bagno, Thunderbird #4 was killed when his F-16 crashed during a training flight just 10 days after he performed with the team at the 2018 Melbourne Air and Space Show. He was just 34 years old. In honor of Cajun, the National Air, Sea and Space Foundation, the organizer of the event, has created the Stephen “Cajun” Del Bagno Memorial Scholarship in partnership with the Florida Institute of Technology and with the support of the Del Bagno family.
Every year the “Cajun Scholarship” will go to help a student in need to get his wings and pursue a future in aviation. “Cajun” started flying when he was just 14 years old and went on to be a corporate pilot, banner tower, skywriter and flight instructor prior to joining the Air Force. During his 11-year career as an Air Force pilot he instructed in the F-16 and F-35, then joined the Thunderbirds in the fall of 2017.
It is in this spirit of his achievements that the Cajun Scholarship has been created to help others to achieve greatness in aviation as “Cajun” did. Click here to donate to the scholarship endowment at the Florida Institute of Technology