Barrington Irving

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Barrington A. Irving, Jr. is reportedly the youngest person to pilot a plane around the world solo. He is also the first black person and first Jamaican to accomplish this feat. As of 2007, he was an aerospace student at Florida Memorial University.

Irving was born in Jamaica, and grew up in the Miami, Florida.[1] He is a graduate of Miami Northwestern High School.

Irving started his journey on March 23, 2007 in the Opa-locka Airport located near Miami, planning to complete the trip in 41 days.[2] His airplane, a Columbia 400, is named the "Inspiration", and was assembled by himself using over $300,000 in donated parts.

The first two stops on his itinerary were Cleveland and Long Island.[3]

On June 27, 2007, Irving completed his flight around the world, after 95 days of travel.[4][5]

Irving turned down multiple football scholarship offers with his sights set on aviation. He later founded Experience Aviation, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering minority youth to pursue careers in aviation.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Pilot Eyes the World", Associated Press, 2007-03-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-24. 
  2. ^ James-Johnson, Alva. "Young pilot has a global mission", Sun-Sentinel, 2007-03-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-24. 
  3. ^ "Soaring to several firsts", Newsday, 2007-03-26. Retrieved on 2007-03-27. 
  4. ^ Samuels, Robert (2007-06-27), “Young pilot completes round-the-world flight”, Miami Herald, <http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/152926.html> 
  5. ^ “Young Pilot Ends Round-The-World Solo Trip”, CBS News, 2007-06-27, <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/27/national/main2989520.shtml> 

[edit] External links

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