PILOT'S PROMISE: IF TEENS BUILD IT, HE'LL FLY IT Posted: Monday, December 01, 2008 9:30 AM
MIAMI – "Here's some metal. Here's some rivets. Construct a plane."
That's how 16-year-old Deshorn King remembers hearing the initial instructions he and 59 other Miami-area teenagers received on Day 1 of their summer vacation. The students applied and were accepted to participate in an aviation program for teens provided by Experience Aviation.
Mission: Build an airplane.
Time allotted: 10 weeks.
Experience required: None.
Of course, all aspects of the plane construction were supervised, but the learning curve was steep.
"Electronics, avionics, basically the whole nine yards within one week," said King.
Novices in the world of aviation were soon talking about rivets, horizontal stabilizers, fuel tanks, engines. They were wearing safety glasses while handling drills, paints and rivet guns. As days turned into weeks, dreams became reality.
Their mentor was 24-year old Barrington Irving, who made history in 2007 by becoming the youngest person ever, as well as the first black pilot, to fly solo around the world in his plane called "Inspiration." He founded Experience Aviation to inspire young people to identify and pursue their dreams, as he has done.
***
A sense of satisfaction was evident on the face of every teenager present.
"It was very fulfilling," said 18-year-old Sakina Simpson. "You can go home and say mom, look what I have done."
[End quote]
After a ten minute first flight, the project was deemed successful. It woud have been nice to see some better pictures of the airplane, especially a close-up image or two; but it looks like a great way for a bunch of kids to spend a summer vacation.