Electronic Village

Methinks we need to take a moment to appreciate historical actions when they take place. I encourage villagers to take that moment right now. You may recall that we told you about a 23-year old Black pilot who audaciously took off in April 2007 on a venture to become the youngest pilot --- and first Black --- to fly solo around the world. We updated the story about midway through the trip. Others provided video documentation of the young man when he was in Rome and Madrid.

After two years of organizing, three months of flying and four continents visited ... 95 days and 25,600 miles ... Barrington Irving's high-flying dream of circling the world came to a joyous conclusion on June 27, 2007 when he landed his single-engine Columbia Lancair he named "Inspiration" at Opa-locka Executive Airport and earned his niche in aviation history.

Irving has wanted to fly around the world since he was a teenager, hoping his intercontinental adventure would motivate young people to aspire to big challenges. Along the way, he has inspired people across the world who followed his progress on the web. Thousands attended his landing, where he was greeted by local politicians and a steel-drum band.

The journey was longer and more taxing than Irving expected. The flight route was scheduled to take 37 days. It took nearly three times that, as he consistently ran into trouble: snowstorms, sandstorms, rainstorms and monsoons.

Irving, who got his first pilot's license at 19, said he stressed safety over speed.

The extended stay gave him time to soak in local culture, he said. He got a haircut in Rome and developed a taste for shish kabobs in Athens. He admired how family-focused homes were throughout Asia and marveled at the architectural creativity in Dubai. ''It's amazing,'' Irving said. ``They have a ski resort in the middle of the desert!''

Despite those enlightening experiences, Irving said he experience loneliness and frustration. His body had a difficult time adjusting to the time changes, and he has lost about 15 pounds. And then there were hours alone aboard Inspiration, where he navigated through turbulent skies and tried to cope with increasing pressure to rush the journey and return home. The average distance between stops was 870 miles, he said.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who represents the district where Irving lives and helped him raise the $1.2 million for his quest, said she has continued to be impressed with him. She's trying to get him booked on Oprah.

Irving plans on completing his graduate studies at Florida Memorial University and working on Experience Aviation, a Saturday morning teaching program he started to instruct neighborhood young people about flying.

Irving said he's not sure if wants to circumnavigate the world again. ''I'm just grateful that God has taken me this far,'' he said. ``It's been mentally and physically taxing so far, and I've had a greater impact on youth -- and older people too -- than I had ever even imagined.''

Villagers, sometimes we simply need to recognize history when it is being created in front of our own eyes!

Villagers, you may recall that we posted a message in late March 2007 about a 23-year old Black man that was flying around the world in a single engine plane. Barrington Irving will set two world records when he returns to Miami later this month --> he will become the first African American and the youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe.

He recently passed the halfway mark when he landed his single-engine aircraft in Calcutta, India, seven weeks after taking off from Miami on March 23rd where 3000 schoolchildren, well-wishers, local officials, and press gathered for the takeoff. In his Lancair Columbia 400, the veritable Ferrari of small aircraft, Irving is traversing four continents, clocking more than 130 hours of flight time on a "World Flight Adventure" that includes stops in the Azores, Spain, Greece, Egypt, Dubai, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan before returning him to the U.S. via Alaska.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in inner-city Miami, Irving's purpose in making the flight is to inspire inner-city and minority youth, and other youth throughout the nation, to consider pursuing careers in aviation and aerospace. He named his plane "Inspiration," he said, "...because that's what I want my historic venture to be for young people. They can look at me and realize that if I can achieve my dream, they can too."

Irving himself was inspired when, at age 15, he met Jamaican airline pilot Captain Gary Robinson, who asked him what he was doing with his life. The next day, Robinson took him on a tour of the cockpit of the United Airlines Boeing 777 he flew and the young man was hooked - he wanted to become a pilot.

He began by washing planes and working odd jobs to pay for flying lessons, turned down college football scholarships and enrolled in a local community college to study aeronautics. He was awarded a joint Air Force/Florida Memorial University Flight Awareness Scholarship and transferred to the university, where he excelled in academics and flight training courses. By age 19, he had earned his Private Pilot and Flight Instructor licenses and his Commercial and Instrument Ratings.

Irving is scheduled to fly from Japan to Alaska on May 21st, the 80th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's takeoff from New York on his successful effort to become the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

The young pilot is following in the tradition of Lindbergh, his heroes the Tuskegee Airmen, and his mentors Erik Lindbergh (grandson of Charles Lindbergh), Steve Fossett, and Dick Rutan, who support his efforts to inspire youth as he joins the ranks of record-setting aviators.

"I wish I had a chance to bring every child tracking the flight on my adventure, but I will be carrying all their hearts with me in the plane," Irving said when he left Miami. "This is what fuels me-having youth believe in what I can do, so they can also begin to believe in themselves."

Villagers, this is an inspiring story. I encourage you to pass along information about this historic event to others!

My dad is a retired aeronautical engineer. During his career he had chance to work on space shuttle project. However, his passion is flying single engine planes out of Compton Airport in California. For summer vacations, our family would pile into a rented 4-seat Cessna and visit our cousins in Houston and Detroit. His love of flying was shared by my brother, Charles. Charles took flying lessons while attending college in Georgia. Charles had his pilot's license at an early age. Heck, my Mom even took flying lessons for a few years. She earned her pilot's license in 1975, although she didn't keep it up over the years.


Anyhow, I thought my dad would enjoy knowing that there is a 23-year-old aerospace student who built his plane from more than $300,000 in donated parts leaving this weekend in the hopes of becoming the youngest person and first black pilot to fly around the globe alone.

Barrington Irving plans to arrive back in Florida on April 30 in his single-engine Lancair Columbia 400. He had planned to fly last year, but a lack of funding delayed his $1 million project. He still needs about $20,000, but that didn't stop him from setting out.

"I want this completed before the year is over so kids can see that someone who started off with nothing set a goal and completed it," he said just before takeoff. "Even with the challenges, everything is starting to fall in place. It's just my time."

Irving was born in Jamaica and grew up in Miami. He said he saw little chance for success until he met a Jamaican-American pilot at his parents' Christian bookstore. The pilot, Gary Robinson, took Irving to see a Boeing 777. The 15-year-old was mesmerized. He turned down college football scholarships to become a pilot.

Irving is now studying at Florida Memorial University; he has private and commercial pilot licenses. He also founded Experience Aviation, a Miami-based organization that encourages minority youths to pursue aviation careers. He will make stops in Cleveland and Farmingdale, N.Y., before passing into Canada, then crossing the Atlantic, through Europe, the Middle East and Asia.


What do you have to say about this young man's quest? Before you submit your comment please take a moment to track Irving's global flight online. It is amazing how cyberspace can bring us together.