KID PILOTS 8-16 YEARS OLD DEMONSTRATE STUDENT PILOT SKILLS AT THE 10TH ANNUAL COMPTON AIR FAIR/ 3RD COMMUNITY CARE AWARDS
September 23rd, 2003 Posted in PressKID PILOTS 8-16 YEARS OLD DEMONSTRATE STUDENT PILOT SKILLS AT THE 10TH ANNUAL COMPTON AIR FAIR/ 3RD COMMUNITY CARE AWARDS FLYING PIONEERS SERGEI SIKORKSY AND TUSKEGEE AIRMEN HONORED
COMPTON WOODLEY AIRPORT– September 24, 2003 – As celebrations of the Centennial of Flight’s first 100 years of aviation come to a close, Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum once again represents aviation diversity and its future at the 10th Annual Compton Air Fair, Saturday, September 27th at Compton Woodley Airport.
From Robin Petgrave’s Positive Vibrations’ “at risk” youth mentoring agenda to TAM Aero Squad’s unique flight training program, no where else in the United States are kids of color afforded the opportunity to realize their aviation dreams under the African American leadership of a self-made master helicopter pilot, aviation entrepreneur, and “at risk” youth philanthropist.
Air Fair and Community Care activities and displays include helicopter, bi-Plane and airplane rides, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, Home Depot kid’s building their future clinic, LA County Sheriff and Fire Department special displays along with many other static aircraft, a rock climbing wall, pony rides, and surprise special guest live performances. This year’s highlight is the recognition of Sergei Sikorsky and his Father, Igor Sikorsky’s accomplishments in the helicopter industry. Sergei Sikorsky will be presented with TAM’s Lifetime Achievement Award and be given a TAM Aviation Legacy Award for Igor Sikorsky. Also honored will be Frank Robinson, founder and CEO of Robinson Helicopters. He will received an Aviation Economic Achievement Award from TAM.
TAM, founded by Robin Petgrave and endorsed by the Mayor of Compton, Eric Perrodin, allows students to enroll in an aviation after-school program sponsored by the Compton Unified School District, stay off the streets, gain valuable math and science skills, and for those interested, gain actual flight experience.
Undoubtedly the largest and most successful aviation youth mentoring program in the nation, TAM provides area youth a plethora of activities year round regardless of their background, economic status, or ethnicity. Their visit can be as simple as playing and learning on the flight simulators in the state of the art virtual reality computer to learning entrepreneurial skills in the Sky Café eating facility.
If bitten by the aviation bug, these kids are also given a chance to study aviation, take flight lessons, and learn aviation history from Tuskegee airmen. The most unique aspect of TAM in addition to its inspiring and equally charismatic director, celebrity helicopter pilot Robin Petgrave, is how it uses aviation as the catalyst to attract and steer youth towards a sound future whether its aviation or a totally unrelated career interest. In other words, it offers kids an after school environment that nourishes positive reinforcement, encourages productivity, and motivates them to realize their dreams.
TAM Programs
- Positive Vibrations Helicopter Visits “Realize Your Dream”
- Virtual Reality Computer Room Flight Simulators/Video Games
- Tuskegee Airmen History Room Tuskegee Airmen Artifacts/History
- Youth Motivation Field Trips Magic Johnson Foundation, Ocean Racer boat rides, Catalina Island Film School Retreat
- Aero Squad After School Helicopter/Airplane Ground/Flight Training
- Aviation Artifacts and Static Display Jets, helicopters, engines, etc.
One Response to “KID PILOTS 8-16 YEARS OLD DEMONSTRATE STUDENT PILOT SKILLS AT THE 10TH ANNUAL COMPTON AIR FAIR/ 3RD COMMUNITY CARE AWARDS”
By CES II on Jan 18, 2008
Mr. Robin Petgrave is a person that gives unselfless to young people, that are showing the world with a chance the sky is not the limit, for only you yourself can set limits.
Respectfully,
Mr. Chauncey E. Spencer II
CEO/Founder
Chauncey Spencer Education Services, LLC.
One of Virginia’s finest, Chauncey Spencer.
November 5
Chauncey Spencer
*Chauncey Spencer was born on this date in 1906. He was an African-American pilot and educator.
From Lynchburg, Virginia, he was one of three children of Edward Spencer and noted Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer. One of the most respected families in Lynchburg, visitors to the Spencer home included George Washington Carver, Paul Robeson, James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, Clarence Muse, Dean Pickens, Adam Clayton Powell, Langston Hughes, Thurgood Marshall, and W.E.B. Dubois.
At the age of eleven, he fell in love with flying yet after graduating from college, no aviation school in Virginia would admit him because of his color. Spencer moved to Chicago in 1934 and joined with a group of African American aviators in organizing the National Airmen Association of America (NAAA). Working for $16-a-week as a kitchen helper he paid $11 an hour for flying lessons.
In May 1939, he and fellow aviator Dale Lawrence White, also an NAAA member, flew a rented Lincoln-Paige biplane with only two flight instruments on a ten city tour that started in Chicago and ended in Washington, DC. Realizing that war in Europe was eminent; they demonstrated the aviation abilities of “Negroes” and lobbied Congress to include of people of color in the Civilian Pilot Training Program for the Army Air Corps. Their flight drew national attention and proved that African Americans could fly an airplane contrary to the beliefs and opinions of most Army Air Corps and government leaders.
They met with Harry Truman and others in Congress, convincing them to support their cause. Later, while employed by the Army, Spencer worked with Judge William H. Hastie for fair treatment of African American air cadets being trained at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and other air bases during World War II. He encountered considerable resistance from whites as well as blacks as the Civilian Personnel Employee Relations Officer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Despite this, he persisted and made steady progress towards integration of the Air Force. In 1948, Spencer received the Exceptional Civilian Service Award for service during World War II, the highest honor the Air Force could bestow upon a civilian.
In 1953, the United States Air Force referred to his role in the integration of the military as “unique though strangely unsung.” However, his refusal to drag his feet on integration created resentment among highly-placed officials who wished to see integration fail. Consequently, in 1953 Spencer was charged with disloyalty and accused of being a Communist. He was relieved of his position and his family suffered great humiliation and economic deprivation. In June 1954 the Air Force cleared him of all charges. Spencer and his family would never fully recover from this ordeal.
Despite ill-treatment, he continued to maintain his belief in the goodness and strength of mankind and America until his death on August 21, 2002.
Reference:
Chauncey E. Spencer II,
2nd Vice President Central Region,
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.,