Barrington Irving: 1st black pilot to fly solo around the world at just 23
- Barrington Irving made history when he became the first black pilot to fly solo around the world for 97 good days
- Irving was only 23 at the time of his great historic travel which he returned from on June 27, 2007
- The successful young man grew up in a humble background and never thought he could even become a pilot until age 15 when a pilot told him he could
Barrington Irving, at just age 23, made history when he became the 1st black pilot to fly solo around the world, an event which happened on June 27, 2007.
That fateful day, the young black man landed at the Opa-Locka Airport in Miami after 97 days of travel, catching the admiration and wonder of many.
The brilliant young man who has also joined the list of historic black people grew up in a very humble background in Kingston, Jamaica, after which he was moved to Miami at age 6, where he would grow up.
See Irving's own narration below:
Growing up, Irving recalls, that his family had little to nothing as there were days that there was no food to eat.
His journey to becoming a pilot started only eight years before his groundbreaking feat to fly solo around the world when he worked in his parents' Christian bookstore at age 15.
A Jamaican pilot met Irving then and simply asked him whether he ever thought about flying a plane, to which Irving replied he did not think he would be able to.
The pilot took the young teenager to go see the jet he flew at the time and encouraged the boy to become a pilot. That was it.
Fast forward, Irving decides to pursue a career in aviation and earned his Private Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor licenses as well as his Instrument and Multi-Engine Rating, all of which led to him making the historic feat.
PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that as the world struggles against coronavirus with a short supply of medical supplies, an unnamed talented young Nigerian man rose up to the challenge by creating a ventilator.
In a video shared by a Twitter user with the handle @skyman_i2, the Nigerian explains how his invention works. He also showed the different components that made it up.
Most especially, the inventor pointed out how the machine can be regulated through a switch.
NAIJ.com (naija.ng) - Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better
NAF Officers make history as first female fighter, helicopter combat pilots | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
Joseph Omotayo (HOD Human-Interest) Joseph Omotayo has been writing for the human interest desk since 2019 and is currently the head of the desk. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, with a degree in Literature in English in 2016. He once worked for Afridiaspora, OlisaTV & CLR. He is a 2022/2023 Kwame Karikari Fact-Checking fellow. He can be reached via: joseph.omotayo@corp.legit.ng.
Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com
