Black Children : Aspiring Teen Pilot

cherryblossom

Well-Known Member
REGISTERED MEMBER
Feb 28, 2009
19,373
5,583
A black teen longs for the wild blue yonder
Fairfax high school senior has his heart set on a very exclusive club: African American fighter pilots

By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 20, 2009



Colin Banks can talk to you about World War I and World War II planes until you're not interested anymore. He likes to TiVo aerial dogfights on the History Channel. The 17-year-old can't drive the distance from Maryland to Richmond by himself, but he's flown it.

As a young black man with a passion for flying, Colin is an anomaly. The teen, a senior at South County Secondary School in Fairfax County, has his sights on the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and dreams of becoming a fighter pilot.

At a time when blacks have reached dazzling heights -- U.S. president, chief executives of giant companies, even the nation's top astronaut is a black man -- you won't find many in the cockpit of a fighter jet. The cost of aviation lessons, the required educational training and the lack of role models all contribute to the scarcity.

Of the 14,130 Air Force pilots, 270 -- or 1.9 percent -- identified themselves as black, the Air Force Personnel Center reported this year. The percentage is similar for commercial pilots, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Colin has 43 hours of flying time and is weeks away from obtaining a private pilot's license. The journey has taken more than a year. It has involved many trips back and forth to the airfield for lessons. It has meant sacrificing weekends of lounging and video games -- and varsity basketball.

"Young black men aren't limited to basketball or being a rapper," Colin said. "Basketball is a game. Flying is a career choice. It's something I wanted to do for the rest of my life."


....Linda Banks, a project manager at Verizon and a single mother, began to hunt for information, too. "Once he told me he wanted to be in the Air Force -- once I stopped crying -- I looked at different activities for the Air Force."

COMPLETE ARTICLE
 
Each year during Memorial Day weekend in Tuskeegee, Al there is a "fly-in" sponsored by Negro Airmen International (NAI) in honor of the Tuskeegee Airmen. Unually in attendance are representatives from the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP), The Tuskeegee Airmen, and several other Black organizations.

http://www.tuskegeeairmen.org/uploads/FlyIn.pdf

There are usually dozens upon dozens of aircraft in attendence mostly operated and often owned by brothers and sisters. I have met one of the real deal Tuskeegee Airmen there. Col Louis (not sure if he is still there) does an excellent job of keeping the history of the Tuskeegee Airmen alive. He also was a strong advocate for their civilian instructor Chief Anderson. If you seen the HBO movie "Tuskeegee Airmen" where Lawrence Fishborne flew Elenor Rooservelt, that was actually Chief Anderson who did that. In the movie, Fishborne plays on of the students who went on to become an Airman but she actually flew with Chief Anderson who purchased his own airplane BEFORE he learned how to fly then TAUGHT himself to fly it because he was laughed at when he asked white instructors to give him lessons.

At this event, they have flying competitions, airial demonstrations, fly-by's of fighter jets, remote control helicopters and airplanes, and the most Black pilots you have ever seen in one gathering in your entire life. This is a very exciting and inspirational place to be.

Thanks Cherryblossom for this article. I love hearing about young brothers and sisters pursuing their dream in Aviation.


THIS I LOVE!!!
genthumb.ashx


The First All-Black Female Flight Crew
http://www.11alive.com/life/story.aspx?storyid=127470&catid=37
 

Donate

Support destee.com, the oldest, most respectful, online black community in the world - PayPal or CashApp

Latest profile posts

HODEE wrote on Etophil's profile.
Welcome to Destee
@Etophil
Destee wrote on SleezyBigSlim's profile.
Hi @SleezyBigSlim ... Welcome Welcome Welcome ... :flowers: ... please make yourself at home ... :swings:
Back
Top