NBC4TV: Teen Welcomed Home After Making Aviation History
July 3rd, 2006 Posted in Press
Teen Welcomed Home After Making Aviation History
POSTED: 10:54 am PDT July 3, 2006
UPDATED: 4:05 pm PDT July 3, 2006
COMPTON, California — A 14-year-old Inglewood boy returned to the Southland on Saturday a conquering hero after successfully landing a Robinson R44 helicopter at 11:05 a.m. at the Compton-Woodley Airport and laying claim to a record as the youngest African-American pilot to fly a helicopter round-trip internationally, as well as three other world records.
Jonathan Strickland, who will be a freshman at a Reseda high school in the fall, is the latest young pilot to set an aviation record as part of Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum’s flying program, which enables youths to convert time spent on community service projects into flying time.
“Basically, it’s another excuse so I can fly,” he told a radio reporter shortly before takeoff from Compton Airport last week for Vancouver, Canada, where youngsters can obtain a pilot’s license at age 14, compared to 16 in the United States.
While in Canada, Jonathan may have set three other world records as the youngest African American to fly a helicopter internationally; the youngest person to solo a plane and helicopter on the same day; and the youngest African-American to fly a helicopter internationally.
The records are unofficial, because neither the National Aeronautic Association, which keeps flying records set by Americans, nor Guinness World Records lists youngest pilot records
But that did not dampen the enthusiasm of family members and friends who greeted Jonathan at the Compton airport at the end of his return flight.
“We’re very proud of him, excited,” his father, John Strickland, told NBC4. “We miss him. He’s been gone for nine days. We can’t wait to get him back home, but we’re glad he passed the test, got his license and made history.”
“It’s an example of what can be done with kids if they are given an opportunity. That’s all they really need,” former Tuskegee Airman Al Crawford, who was among those at the airport, told the TV station.
Jonathon said he was elated by the experience. “Feels good. I’m tired though,” he told NBC4.
Awaiting Jonathan in Compton were several former Tuskegee airmen, including original airmen Ted Lumpkin, Levi Thornhill, Jerry Hodges, Otis Cowling, Victor Miller, Andrew Wallace, and Western Region Vice President Ralph Smith.
Others on hand included Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin; City Councilwomen Barbara Calhoun and Lillie Dobson; Deputy Supervisor Jason Seward; and chairman and vice chairman of the Los Angeles County Aviation Commission, Clint Simmons; and Dennis Lord, representing County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke.
Jonathan’s journey to Canada began June 22, when he took off from the Compton airport in Compton.
Jonathan recently graduated from St. Francis Cabrini School and will enter the ninth grade in September as a freshman at Cleveland High School in Reseda. He has been training to fly since 2003, racking up more than 60 hours of combined flight training.
Jonathan said his goals include becoming a test pilot, attending the Air Force Academy and becoming a commercial pilot. He added that his hero is Tuskegee Airman Lee Archer, the only African-American ace pilot to shoot down five planes.
Jonathan received his training as a member of the Aviation Explorer Program at Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, a non-profit that teaches disadvantaged children to fly planes and helicopters, for free, in return for community service.
Copyright 2006 by NBC4.tv. City News Service contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
