Legacy Flight Academy will be preparing for take off this weekend

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Legacy Flight Academy will be preparing for take off this weekend.

Legacy Flight Academy builds on the foundation of the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen to expose youth early to opportunities within aviation. The Legacy Flight Academy and Columbus Air Force Base are working together to change the lives of area youth with one flight.

“I think it is a lot of things in life we dream about when we want to grow up, and I know for a lot of people that this is not in their dreams per se, mainly because they just have not been exposed to it,” said Captain Ben Ayivorh, United States Air Force.

Legacy Flight Academy is hosting its one-day stem program, Eyes Above the Horizon, with an emphasis on aviation and representation.

“Partnering with organizations within the local community to provide opportunities for under-represented demographics within the pilot of the aviation community to experience and explore different aspects of that industry,” Lt. Col. Aaron Jones, USAF.

Organizers expect more than 100 young people to take part in the event at the Columbus Lowndes County Airport.

Students will start their day with interactive STEM lessons and then take off into the sky with airmen like Captian David Brown, USAF.

“I didn’t see around in a flight suit of my race until I saw the Red Tails movie until I was a junior at UCF, so tomorrow, being able to give back to the kids and have them experience their first flight and have that activity do a Q & A with them just seeing people that looked like,” said Brown.

Brown said he hopes to engage not only with youth in the area but also his teenage son, who will get to see what he does in real-time.

“I think tomorrow seeing me in this light will inspire him, and hopefully, he’ll be the guy to replace me one day like, who knows, right,” Captain Brown said.

AIM Director, Captain Dorian Niemritz, said the main goal for youth this Saturday is to See and believe that one day they can too fly high.

“They see planes flying around all the time, but show them that they have an opportunity to be in the cockpit as well as being cockpit of the Air Force aircraft,” said Niemritz.

If you want to learn more about the Legacy Flight Academy, visit legacyflightacademy.org

For 24/7 news and updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter