{"id":1656,"date":"2021-03-13T16:47:28","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T16:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2021-03-13T16:47:28","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T16:47:28","slug":"profile-this-black-pilot-is-inspiring-the-next-generation-of-aviators-of-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=1656","title":{"rendered":"PROFILE: This Black Pilot Is Inspiring The Next Generation Of Aviators Of Color"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/span>\u00a0Claude J. Easy\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

NEW YORK \u2014\u00a0After their ancestors looked up to the skies in hope of freedom, one man is inspiring the next generation of African-American aviators.<\/p>\n

Promoting diversity and inclusion, Courtland Savage and his North Carolina-based nonprofit Fly For The Culture have come a long way since its inception three years ago. The nonprofit has made it its mission to introduce minority youth to aviation through a set, self-paced curriculum designed to inspire. While Savage was successful in his aviation career, he doesn\u2019t want the military to be the only option for others.<\/p>\n

He continued to ask: What happens after we take a young person up for the first time?<\/p>\n

On average, costs to obtain a\u00a0pilot\u2019s license<\/a>\u00a0or certificate can top $80,000. But partnering with aviation giants, such as American Airlines, could be a solution. The company offers\u00a0cadet academy programs<\/a>\u00a0for young people who don\u2019t have the finances to pay for pilot training.<\/p>\n

Fly For The Culture has already started to nurture a relationship with the airline company. Last year, American Airlines gave students of West Charlotte High School access to its state-of-the-art training facility. Furthering the\u00a0nonprofit\u2019s mission<\/a> to promote diversity and inclusion in aviation, aspiring aviation pilots learned throughout the tour about the various vital roles that Science, Technology, Engineering, Aviation, and Mathematics (STEAM) professionals play in the world of air transport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve read if you can get a young person started with flight school at 18, by the time they\u2019ve retired as an airline pilot, they\u2019ve made $8 million throughout their career. That $80,000 to $100,000 investment doesn\u2019t sound bad at the end of the day,\u201d Savage said.<\/p>\n

For young blacks, minorities, and women, flying can be an escape from the dark realities that exist on the ground. When asked what it feels like to look at the world from a higher perspective, Dazha Austin, a Fly For The Culture intern who wants to work within the NTSB space of aviation to help prevent aircraft crashes, had something special to share.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a moment of bliss. It feels like you\u2019re untouchable. You\u2019re on top of the world,\u201d Austin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s annoying down here,\u201d said Romello Walters, another intern at Fly For The Culture who is a pilot currently obtaining the rest of his ratings to fly for the airlines.<\/p>\n

He noted that the acts of police brutality and racial injustice that are constantly in the news can be stressful, adding that \u201cflying\u201d to another space can help calm nerves.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re able just to really be free at some point in time, even if it\u2019s for an hour. All the problems are under me, literally, and I\u2019m just able to focus on what I\u2019m doing right now. \u2026 It\u2019s like watching the sunset sometimes; that\u2019s how it feels for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Savage\u2019s community of young aviators is growing, and the love for aviation is too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are able to literally show these kids we look like them, and we\u2019re doing something that\u2019s very much possible,\u201d Walters said. \u201cIt\u2019s more than just you as the individual; we have to stop thinking that way. It\u2019s a community of people, and we\u2019re all here to help each other.”<\/p>\n

Posts from Fly for The Culture\u2019s cadets continue to flood Instagram feeds, all in an effort to push the mission further.\u00a0The trend is becoming more real every day as more and more black icons take to the skies. Scrolling through the\u00a0nonprofit\u2019s Instagram feed<\/a>, pictures and videos of celebrities, heroes, and influencers in the cockpit serve as inspirational thumb-stopping content.<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve it or not, I like flying in my smaller plane than my other one. The Baron is like riding in a sports car,\u201d comedian Lil Duval said in one Instagram post.<\/p>\n

The future of aviation looks a little more colorful, thanks to this budding organization. In closing, Savage had one last piece of advice from his father for aspiring pilots of color.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything you see them white boys do, you can do that, too. You\u2019ve got 10 toes and 10 fingers just like they do. \u2026 You can do anything you put your mind to as long as you try. No one out there is better than you. If they can do it, you can do it, he said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: Zenger News<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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