March 21, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
William Cahalin
bcahalin@kellyaerospace.com
334.386.3621
Kelly Aerospace Thermal Systems is proud to promote and co-sponsor the
Youngest
African American Ever
to fly solo around the globe
Career opportunities can be few and far between for America's inner-city youth, yet 23 year-old Barrington Irving is working with Kelly Aerospace to change all that. Not only will he be the youngest aviator to fly solo around the world, Barrington Irving will also be the first African American to make the trek. Beginning in Miami, Florida and traversing Canada, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Asia and the Caribbean on his way back home, Barrington will follow in the tradition of mentor Erik Lindbergh, grandson of the great Charles Lindbergh, and many other great aviators before him.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in inner-city Miami, Irving hopes this great endeavor will inspire the underprivileged and uninformed youth of his hometown, and others throughout the nation, to strive for career success in areas that may have seemed unavailable to them. Barrington Irving is flying around the world to show America's underprivileged youth that they can achieve their dreams. He even named his plane Inspiration, "...because that's what I want my historic venture to be for young people who are looking for a purpose in life beyond the streets of the inner city. More than setting world records, my mission is to reach those youth. I want them to see that neither a lack of money nor their young age can keep them from attempting what may at first seem impossible."
An aeronautical science major at Florida Memorial College in Miami, the Jamaican national will embark on an East-West flight path departing from Opa Locka Executive Airport on March 23rd, 2007, and returning to the Miami area on April 30th. Barrington will be flying a Lancair Columbia 400, a single-engine airplane often described as the "Ferrari" of small aircrafts due to its sophisticated features, that also includes state-of-the-art data programming and electronic charts in place of the traditional cockpit. This custom-made avian beauty from Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation is a result of Barrington's tenacious efforts to accomplish his mission. In 2003, the flight student began calling aircraft manufacturers in hopes of borrowing or leasing a plane and when no one said yes, he began visiting aviation trade shows around the country in search of donated parts. When he had secured $300,000 in donated aircraft components, Columbia built him the world's fastest single-engine piston airplane that has been modified with extended range fuel tanks for the historic flight.
Founder and President of the nonprofit organization Experience Aviation, Barrington Irving is currently involved in promoting careers in aviation by mentoring inner-city school children. When he returns from Experience Aviation's World Flight Adventure, Barrington Irving will be honored at the McDonald's Air & Sea Show presented by CBS 4 in McDonald's National Salute to American Heroes. Last year's Air & Sea Show honored Barrington's heroes, the Tuskegee Airmen, African-American WWII fighter pilots, which makes this award an especially significant honor for the young pilot.
For more information on Barrington Irving and Experience Aviation's World Flight Adventure, please visit: www.experienceaviation.org
About Kelly Aerospace:
Kelly Aerospace, Inc, headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, is a leading subsystem supplier to general aviation OEM and aftermarket customers. The Kelly Aerospace organization is: Kelly Aerospace Power Systems, Inc. manufacturing facilities and corporate offices in Montgomery, Alabama; Kelly Aerospace Turbine Rotables, Inc. an FAA certified repair station located in Wichita, Kansas; and Kelly Aerospace Thermal Systems, LLC. manufactures air conditioning and ice protection systems for general aviation aircraft. Thermal Systems design and development facility is in Willoughby, Ohio. For more information visit: WWW.KELLYAEROSPACE.COM
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