| Mentorship
Experience
Capt.
Barrington Irving knows what it takes to fly
By Michael Dumas
Bay Family magazine
August 2008
As
a teenager, Jamaican-born Barrington Irving caught flying fever,
having been introduced to the craft by United Airlines Captain Gary
Robinson, who he met in his parents' bookstore. But, young Barrington
didn't think he was smart enough to fly an airplane; surely it was
akin to rocket science.
Less that a
decade later, on June 27, 2007, Irving's airplane Inspiration
touched down in Miami, FL, after completing a solo circumnavigation
of the earth. He was 23 years old - 15 years younger than the previous
record holder for an around-the-world solo flight. When his wheels
landed on South Florida terra firma, the pilot with the 1000-watt
smile also became the first Jamaican, and man of African descent,
to complete aviation's most coveted achievement. It seems he was
smart enough, after all.
Discovering
his penchant for aviation changed Irving's life and taught him the
difference between a job and a career - thanks in no small part
to mentorship.
"It really
makes a difference when you have someone who genuinely cares about
you and wants to help you, especially when they're not family,"
Irving said about Capt. Robinson's inspiration. "That's how
I got into aviation, because someone took the time out for me."
Irving dedicates
all the time he has to living that philosophy, beginning by speaking
to church, school and community groups about the benefits of a skilled
workforce in aviation and how those with the courage to chase their
dreams can actually reach them.
Through his
non-profit orgainzation, Experience Aviation, Irving primarily works
with inner-city, high-minority youths educating them about the opportunities
that exist to have satisfying careers with high pay.
On Sept. 3,
presented by the Mobile International Festival,
Irving will speak to local students at Davidson High School, which
includes his World Flight Adventure presentation. He already
has a firm connection with the Port City, having received the engine
for Inspiration from Mobile's Teledynce Continental Motors
- one of the first major companies to sponsor his journey.
"Mobile
has always been good to me, a blessing," Irving said. "And
Continental is very passionate about the future of aviation. I think
they were impressed with my persistence, making phone calls and
sending lots of letters - doing everything I could to get that engine
donated."
That level of
persistence, self-reliance and belief are tenets of Irving's mentorship,
which he is taking to new levels again near Miami through his Build
& Soar program for students, which will result in their construction
of Inspiration II, a plane Irving will take to the skies
himself this October.
"This is
a beacon, meant to catapult aviation into the educational realm,"
he said. "There's nothing new about building airplanes, but
we've actually structured the program to challenge students to build
an airplane in 10 weeks!"
Irving
believes it is easier to work with students who have no prior knowledge
of his craft, as long as they can maintain open minds and creative
thinking.
"These
are inner-city kids and when they began, most didn't even know how
to put the drill on the air hose," he said. And yet, when they
are finished, those same students will watch their teacher climb
aboard a craft they built as a team and soar, smiling, down the
runway at Opalocka Airport.
Irving's youth
and experience enable him to relate to his students in ways many
in the aviation industry cannot - a fact not lost on the 24-year-old
pilot, who was raised in inner-city Miami. And with south Alabama's
growth as a power in the world aviation industry, there is no telling
what doors Irving and other such passionate educators will open
for present, and future, generations.
"To be
able, as a young person, to bring industry to the classroom in creative
ways - it's something dynamic I'm looking to really build upon in
a greater way," he said. "(Experience Aviation) has served
as the first step on the path of getting that done."
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