Kappas Sponsor Aviation Day at Flight Academy

By Journalist Dr. Ms. Jones

NEW WINDSOR – On Saturday, August 17th students between the ages of 14-17 years old experienced a free flight lesson as a part of Aviation Day. The event took place at The Red Tail Flight Academy located at Stewart Airport.

“We exist because we support the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen. And the Tuskegee Airmen have essential values that we think are… good for communicating with youth, and we also pay attention to the opportunities that aviation offers youth in an industry that is not populated by minorities in any significant way at all. So, if the kids don’t know that the opportunity exists, then they can’t aspire to it. So, that’s the reason why we hold Aviation Days,” said Carlos Rodriguez, Instructor and Executive Director of The Red Tail Flight Academy. “The kids that are here are part of The Beyond the Dream Foundation. [They are having] a discovery flight, and they get introduced to aviation. Now they may decide that they want to pursue a career in aviation, and then that will take them through another process, because we have scholarships for that.”

Aviation Day was sponsored by The Beyond the Dream Foundation, which was created in 2008 by The Poughkeepsie Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. It provides scholarships to underserved African-American young men who are about to graduate from high schools in The Mid-Hudson Valley area of New York as well as Danbury, CT as well as other programs.

“This is one of our community engagement programs that we sponsor for underserved communities…. We raise money, we give scholarships, we get involved in programs in which we feed the needy, we have soup kitchens. This is the first year we’ve done something in the aviation area,” said Creighton Lee, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Member and Board Member of Beyond the Dream Foundation 501 (c)(3).

Capt. Keith Baskett is a Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Member and an airline pilot for United Airlines. He facilitated the event.

“We thought that it would be most appropriate to utilize and go in partnership with The Red Tail Flight Academy, because our missions are aligned. Our missions are to bring aviation to the underserved and the historically communities who have not had the opportunity… to exercise this part of the passion to be able to be active, both in aviation, and to learn about it, and for us to be able to foster their interest into developing it into careers… We’ve got 25 kids who we’ve invited to be able to participate. Not only are we giving them their first flying lesson, but we’re going to give them the opportunity to speak to other career professionals that are in adjacent, not just pilots, to aviation careers. We’ve got some mechanics, aircraft dispatchers, air traffic controllers… drone operators… who are going to either come and visit the classroom or zoom in… who’s going to talk to the kids about all these different facets of aviation,” said Capt. Baskett who shared the sparse number of pilots of color. “I’ve been involved in the industry for 35 years… We’ve had progressive action within the industry over the last 35 years to see our numbers increase and we’re still less than 3% of the total of airline pilots that are represented by Black pilots. And it’s even more meager when you look at the percentage of African American women who actually are flying.”

The Red Tail Flight Academy offers various programs where students can become a commercial, multi-engine pilot and work in the industry. Programs start as early as second grade! Programs include Early Birds (RedTails at the Armory), Lee A. Archer Red Tail Youth Flying Program, RedTail Flight Academy, RFA Maintenance Scholarship Program, and The RedTail Flight Academy Aviation Summer Camp.

16-year-old Joshua Meekins comes to The Red Tail Flight Academy every Monday as part of the high school program. He has been at The Red Tail Flight Academy for two years. He volunteered at Aviation Day to assist and share his experiences with students.

“I took my intro flight, and I was nervous, but it was really fun… It was really exhilarating, and an adrenaline rush… and I definitely, definitely would recommend doing it. You fly with somebody else, of course, in your intro flight. So that’s a great thing… You also have an opportunity, as a junior or senior to fly on your own. It’s called the solo track, and it’s basically, when you perform exceptionally in this class… You will have the opportunity to solo. You perform one traffic pattern and land three times,” said Meekins who used to have social phobia. “Because of this program, it got me out of this whole social anxiety thing that I used to have… I feel comfortable.”

Cameron Ray graduated from Hampton University with a degree in Aviation Management last year. He became a licensed private pilot through The Red Tail Flight Academy in four months. He served as an escort for Aviation Day.

“[I’m] on scholarship. So, they cover my flight training, instead of me coming out of pocket… Every flight that we go up on average is usually about $500. That’s for every flight. But normally we’ll do 2-3 flights a day. So, you imagine how that kind of builds up, and you need a certain amount of hours to get this rating and license,” said Ray who is training to become a commercial pilot by the end of the year.

For more about The Red Tail Flight Academy, visit www.redtailflightacademy.org.

Journalist Ms. Jones