Black pilots group helps youth take flight

Jeannie Nugent

PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Like a weathered airman, Charles Kelly of Long Beach, Calif., lumbered away from his airplane at Grider Field during the recent annual convention of the Black Pilots of America (BPA) and into the waiting fold of teenagers anxious to hear the news he was about to share.

A roar erupted as triumphant fists were thrown from the half-dozen red-T-shirt-clad Southeast Junior High School students bordering the chain-link fence.

“We got the best time!” Tyras Evans screamed.

Kelly quickly reminds the students that timing isn’t the only ingredient needed to win. He then dispatches three of the young men to his airplane with orders to supervise the refueling and report back to him the gallons that were dispensed.

He then turns his attention to the remaining dozen or so anxious teenagers that make up the competing teams of Southeast and Dollarway junior high schools. Kelly has worked tirelessly with the students, alternating his time between the two schools teaching the students the basics of air navigation using math skills they learn in the classroom.

Operation Skyhook 2007 was the inaugural of the BPA’s “Aviation Science and Math Challenge” for area youth. Prior to the morning’s flights, the young flight teams designed a navigation plan and aeronautical chart with a six-leg course around Southeast Arkansas. Students had to calculate values, such as magnetic heading, distance, altitude, speed and fuel usage. The team that came closest to the actual figures would win the challenge.

“These kids skipped lunches to work on this. They were so excited,” said Southeast Junior High counselor Juanita Gurric. “They used math skills they wouldn’t normally use. They’ve been so enthusiastic about this project.”

The competitive spirit was tangible. Dollarway Junior High School student William Creighton said he knew his team had an advantage over the Southeast crew because they had more time to practice.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in ourselves,” Evans piped in.

The students agreed that the experience touched their lives and impacted their futures.

“I want to take up flying. I want to keep studying it and learning all I can about flying. This feels kind of like a great opportunity for us,” said Angelica Shelton of Southeast, who went up in the air for the first time the day before the convention.

BPA President retired Col. Palmer Sullins Jr. said influencing youth is the main focus of the organization.

Sullins grew up under the tutelage of Tuskegee Airmen founder Charles Alfred “Chief” Anderson. He recounts the time Anderson was bemoaning the fact that his own sons had no desire to go into the aviation field.

“I stood up and said, ‘I’ll be your son.’ I was hooked from that moment on,” Sullins said. “It’s important that youth have mentors in the field. They can take you all the way.”

As Kelly secluded himself in a room at the airport to calculate the students’ scores, he made it clear that he wasn’t just there to teach aviation.

“It only takes two days to show them how to make a flight plan, but it takes two to three days to teach them how to work as a team,” he said, then lifted his head from the calculation sheets as three boys raced into the room to exclaim “15.3!”

“They’re pretty good,” Kelly said as he compared the fuel projections from both teams on the tally sheets.
He shakes his head as he notices Southeast has miscalculated the magnetic heading.

“It was just a matter of verbal communication. I would’ve been heading out west if I had followed this,” he said. “I have to take off for it because I would’ve flown the wrong way. They’re going to want to know where they made a mistake.”

He collects the paperwork and heads outdoors toward the anxious teenagers, who stop and point, saying: “Here he comes!”

Kelly grabs the microphone and looks to the two trophies, one larger than the other, on the table.
“And the winner is … all the students who participated,” he said, breaking into laughter at the groans from the students.

He quickly reviews the particulars of the scores to nods of comprehension from the students. In the end, he announces that Dollarway narrowly won the competition.

“Yeah, baby!” Veatrice McHenry, the mother of Dollarway student DaJerrian McHenry, screamed as she jumped in the air.

Kelly said he hopes to keep the competition going year after year.

“This year was like a test run for us,” he said. “I always enjoyed watching airplanes and fell in love with them as a child. That love of the air didn’t die with me. It’s still there in the hearts of kids today.”

(The Pine Bluff, Ark., Commercial)