Apr 12, 2007 11:23 am US/Eastern
Pilot On Historic Flight Will Miss Air & Sea Show
jm
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
A South Florida man hoping to be the first African American to fly solo around the world is back in the air after a weeks delay in Canada.
23-year old Barrington Irving had hoped to wrap up his trip by arriving at the McDonald's Air & Sea Show in Fort Lauderdale on May 2nd to receive an award for being a positive role model, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen now.
Irving started his epic journey March 23rd when he took off from Opa Locka airport. Things seemed to be going well as he made his way through New York and Cleveland, but then came Canada where he hit a major snag. Snow, and lots of it. Deciding to play it safe, Barrington stayed in Newfoundland for a week and half until the skies cleared.
Then on Easter weekend it was back into the wild blue yonder. As of Thursday, April 12th, he was in Italy, near Rome.
So far, he has flown more than 5 thousand miles, but still has 20 thousand to go with stops planned in Greece and Thailand.
Irving, who moved to Miami Gardens from Jamaica when he was 6, developed his love for planes and flying at the age of 15. One afternoon, while working at his parent's bookstore, Irving struck up a conversation with a customer, a Jamaican airline pilot by the name of Captain Gary Robinson. That afternoon, Robinson invited Irving to the airport to see the cockpit of the Boeing 777 jet he flew for United Airlines. That day changed the young man's life forever.
Irving says he started spending afternoons and weekends at the airport, washing planes for private aircraft owners in exchange for half-hour flights or money he could use for flying lessons. In 2003, Barrington enrolled in Florida Memorial University where he excelled in both his academic and flight training courses. Over the next few years, he continued to do volunteer work for such organizations as "5000 Role Models," while he earned his Private, Commercial Pilot, and Flight Instructor licenses.
When he gets back, Irving says he plans to finish his aerospace degree at Florida Memorial University.
Organizers of the McDonald's Air & Sea Show said they understand Irving's delay, and will happily wait for him to return so they can present him with the award.
Irving is tracking his historic flight on the Web site experience-aviation-dot-org. You can
Click here for a link to the website.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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