- Barrington Irving
Barrington A. Irving, Jr. is the youngest person to pilot a plane around the world . He is also the first black person and first Jamaican to accomplish this feat. As of 2007, he was an
aerospace student atFlorida Memorial University . His airplane, aColumbia 400 , is named the "Inspiration", and was manufactured and assembled by the Columbia Aircraft Mfg. Co. in 2005, classified as a standard aircraft in the utility category using over $300,000 in donated parts.Mr. Irving was born in Jamaica, and grew up in the
Miami, Florida . [cite news | url = | title = Pilot Eyes the World | publisher =Associated Press | date =2007-03-23 | accessdate = 2007-03-24 ] He is a graduate ofMiami Northwestern High School. Mr. Irving turned down multiple football scholarship offers with his sights set on aviation. He later founded Experience Aviation, anon-profit organization dedicated to empoweringminority youth to pursue careers inaviation . His airplane, the "Inspiration", has been registered to Experience Aviation since 2006.Mr. Irving started his journey on
March 23 2007 in theOpa-locka Airport located near Miami, planning to complete the trip in 41 days. [cite news | last = James-Johnson | first = Alva | title = Young pilot has a global mission | publisher =Sun-Sentinel | date =2007-03-23 | url = http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pncpilot23mar23,0,1912433.story | accessdate = 2007-03-24 ]The first two stops on his itinerary were
Cleveland andLong Island . [cite news | title = Soaring to several firsts | publisher =Newsday | date =2007-03-26 | url = http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-lifly265145895mar26,0,6996430.story?coll=ny-linews-print | accessdate = 2007-03-27 ]On
June 27 2007 , Mr. Irving completed his flight around the world, after 97 days of travel. [Citation|last=Samuels|first=Robert|title=Young pilot completes round-the-world flight|newspaper=Miami Herald |date=2007-06-27 |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/152926.html] [Citation|title=Young Pilot Ends Round-The-World Solo Trip|newspaper=CBS News |date=2007-06-27 |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/27/national/main2989520.shtml]References
External links
* [http://www.experienceaviation.org/ Experience Aviation] - includes GPS-enabled flight tracker
* [http://barringtonirving.spaces.live.com/ Barrington Irving blog]
* [http://uvu.channel2.org/ uVu] - exclusive video highlights of historic trip; keyword search: Barrington
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