Scheduled To Return To Miami In Late May

When Barrington Irving returns to Miami in the last week of May, the 23-year-old pilot will set two world records: he will become the first African American and the youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe. He recently passed the halfway mark on his epic trip, when he landed his single-engine aircraft in Calcutta, India, seven weeks after taking off from Miami on March 23.

As Aero-News reported, 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 US 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 donated Lancair Columbia 400 "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 was working in his parents' Christian bookstore and met a customer, 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.

Irving is currently in Hong Kong, waiting for the weather to clear before continuing onward. He is scheduled to fly from Japan to Alaska on May 21, 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. Thousands of people worldwide have been tracking Irving's trip on Microsoft flight simulator programs, and reading his flight blog on his website.

"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."

Irving founded Experience Aviation Inc. (EA), a nonprofit organization that provides flight simulator training and aviation career guidance to middle and high school students. He opened the first EA Learning Center opened in Miami in November 2006, with the support of the Miami Mayor, School Commissioners, and other local officials and businesses

FMI: www.experienceaviation.org