by
NARR:
Barrington Irving is built like a football player and wears a tan-flight suit with a variety of aviation patches on his shoulders and over his heart. Irving is twenty-four years old, and he appears to be still basking in the glory of his historic flight. However, nine years before, Irving was just another kid in Miami, growing up in a rough neighborhood. Irving became interested in aviation when he was approached by the first black pilot he had ever seen, a man named Gary Robertson.
AX: IRVING
He walked up to me out of the blue and he asked me if I ever thought of becoming a pilot. I looked at him crazy and told him I didn't think I was smart enough.
0:07.915
NARR:
Robertson convinced him otherwise and after the fateful meeting, Irving began dreaming big. Amateur flying clubs and websites estimate that only sixty-nine people have flown solo around the globe since 1929 - none of them African American. It's a hard flight to make, and incredibly expensive, however, Irving decided he would do it anyway. First, he needed a plane.
AX: IRVING
Well basically what I did was I outsmarted the system, where no one wanted to give me a plane, lend me a plane, lease me a plane, let me borrow a plane, so I went after individual parts.
0:10.612
NARR:
After a lot of hustling, Irving convinced manufacturers to donate everything from the tires to the cockpit system. With all the parts eventually secured, Irving convinced an airplane manufacturer to build his plane. He financed the trip with online donations, and support from businesses like Chevron and Microsoft. On March twenty-third, 2007, Irving and his new plane took off from Miami on a route that took him to Cairo, Hong Kong, and Calcutta to name a few. He would not return for over three months, and when he wasn't on the ground refueling or exploring other countries, he was alone in the sky sometimes for nine hours at a time.
AX: IRVING
You really didn't do much thinking, I mean you looked at the weather, you looked at the engine, the engine instruments, you know, where you're going, your coordinates, you think about family, friends, all that stuff, but you know, when you get emotional sometimes it kind of sets you up for failure.
0:13.762
NARR:
Irving's flight memories seem stiff and rehearsed, except when he recounts his moments of near failure.
AX: IRVING
when I was crossin' the North Atlantic I just mentally lost it, 'cause I was thinking about all these different things goin' on and the airplane was fine, but I was seriously considering ditchin' the aircraft and just callin' it quits.
00:12.007
NAAR:
In spite of the challenges Irving faced, he learned some valuable lessons. Lessons he wants to share with kids coming from the same background as him.
Since returning to Miami at the end of June in 2007, Irving has made talking about his experience a full time livelihood.
AX: IRVING/STUDENTS
IRVING: how you guys doing today?
KIDS: Outstanding, sir!
IRVING: We're gonna… we're gonna try that one more time. How you guy's doin' today?
KIDS: Outstanding, SIR!
0:07.141
NARR:
Today, Irving is talking to students from Aviation High School and the Young Women's Leadership School. The IMAX theater in the Cradle of Aviation Museum serves as his court, and the theater is nearly three-quarters full. Girls in navy blue sweaters over collared white shirts, boys in blazers and black ties. Most are Black or Hispanic.
AX: IRVING - SPEECH
You guys will reach a point where you have some type of dream, some type of goal or passion or something. And it's up to you to make it happen.
0:07.898
NARR:
After a twenty-minute talk, students ask a few question. "What will you do next?" and "how did you go to the bathroom?" He has an unquestionable rapport with the students, and it shows in their responses after the talk.
AX: STUDENTS
-I really liked it, I hope to have some goals myself and to set some records and basically do what he did.
Do you want to be a pilot or anything?
-Yeah, I might, maybe, I'm not sure yet, but I'm lookin' forward to joinin' the air force.
And how old are you?
-Fourteen.
So, you could still beat his record of being the youngest person to fly around the world then?
-Even though it would break his heart, yeah, I would like to.
0:29.596
NARR:
Irving's next project is to set up an after school program for kids to build an airplane from scratch. When it's finished, Irving says he will fly it. Where he will take it, he won't say. Just yet. Tristan Ahtone, Columbia Radio News.