Aims To Become Youngest Person Ever To Fly Around The Globe

Just past 1030 EDT Friday morning, 23-year-old pilot Barrington Irving departed Florida's Opa-Locka Executive Airport on a quest to become the youngest person ever to fly around the world... and the first African-American to do it solo.

Irving is the founder of Experience Aviation, an organization aimed at encouraging minority youths to pursue careers in aviation and aerospace. He is a student himself, taking aerospace courses at Florida Memorial University.

First stop for Irving and his Columbia 400 will be Cleveland, OH. The young pilot will then fly to Farmingdale, NY Sunday, before crossing into Canada Tuesday. From there, Irving will alight over the Atlantic, stopping in the Azores before continuing on to Spain. He plans to return to Miami, FL on April 30 -- after having flown approximately 21,500 nautical miles.

When asked what motivated him to attempt a round-the-world flight, Irving replies, "The hopelessness and negative influences in my community."

"I was born in Kingston, Jamaica but have lived in inner-city Miami since I was 6 years old," he writes on the Experience Aviation website. "When I was a teenager, there was little incentive for me or my classmates to get off the streets and pursue real careers... I believe part of the reason for this is the lack of hope inner-city youth see for their futures -- I want to show them they can do more with their lives than resort to violence! I’m also motivated to show the few people who doubted what I could do that anything is possible -- they said I was too young and had no money, but that hasn’t stopped me."

For proof of Irving's "can-do" nature, one needs to look no further than the story behind his aircraft, which he has dubbed "Inspiration." Barrington began calling aircraft manufacturers four years ago, asking them to borrow, lease, or donate a plane he could use to make aviation history.

When no one manufacturer said yes, he decided to ask manufacturers of the various components instead, to donate individual products to him; he then asked Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing if they'd agree to assemble the plane if he could produce the parts.

The rest is history. Over the next year, Irving visited aviation trade shows throughout the country and secured more than $300,000 in donated components -- including the engine, tires, cockpit systems, and seats. Columbia built his airplane -- ready for modification with ferry fuel tanks -- and Chevron kicked in the fuel while Irving trained.

For the full story (there's a LOT more to it) as well as a live flight tracker of Irving's flight, visit the Experience Aviation website at the FMI link below.

FMI: www.experienceaviation.org