The Tuskegee Airmen were legendary. This year, the program takes off again.
Damon Benson, from Atlanta, knew he wanted to be a pilot the first time he stole an airliner when he was a child. “When [the pilot] Put the push before takeoff, and I was pushed back to the siege, it was exciting for me, “said Mr. Benson with a smile.” I fell in love then, and that’s what won at this point.
“I just knew I wanted to be the person who was in the cockpit, flying [around] A child like me who was somewhere on the back. Being able to say to them: “Hey, you can also do that.” “”
Mr. Benson is one of the 46 Aviation Science Students at the Academy of Flight Training (Alsig) at Tuskegee University in Alabama, where training has taken up this year for the first time since 1946. The training center is based in Moto Field, appointed for the second president of Tuskegee, Robert Russa Moton. This is where the skills of the first airmen were perfected before serving as a first African-American military aviator of the Second World War.
Why we wrote this
Some might think that the heritage of the aviators of Tuskegee is everything in the past. But there is a generation of students at the famous University of Tuskegee, a historically black university, which is about to climb to their predecessors.
One of the last members of this legendary cohort, Lieutenant-Colonel George E. Hardy, who carried out combat missions during the Second World War, died at the age of 100 last month. The National Office of the Organization said in a statement that its inheritance was “courage, resilience, great competence and perseverance that allowed racism, prejudices and other evils”.
Titus Sanders, the director of the aviation science program at Tuskegee, notes the challenges related to the triumphant return of the program.
“For decades, Tuskegee wanted to return to the sky. … One of the challenges of aviation is funding, not having the appropriate amount to start the program, include planes and the infrastructure that must be in place,” said Mr. Sanders in a zoom interview. “It costs around $ 120,000 to train a private pilot student in a commercial license in the United States, in addition to their tuition fees which they have to pay at university. Thus, many individuals and agencies have consulted the planning and launch of the program. ”
Airman Senior Malcolm Mayfield / US Air Force / File
At the end of the program, students – made up of both men and women – will both have a baccalaureate in aviation sciences from Tuskegee University and a commercial multi -motor engine license through Lift Academy. It is a four -year program that can be completed in three years, and apart from the inheritance of the airmen, its emphasis on academic and military excellence has prompted people with military experience like Columbia, South Carolina, Myles White, native.
“While I was in active service in the navy, I worked with different types of planes. … The simple fact of working on the cockpit absolutely motivated me to do more than loading ammunition on the plane, “explains Mr. White. “It’s an incredible job, and I loved it and I’m proud to be proud. But I wanted to go to the next stage, and that’s what really inspired me to continue the path of aviation. ”
Mr. White and Mr. Benson, who are both affiliated to the Rotc Navy, briefly described the rigors of the program and their calendar. Their days start at 6 am, with training or lessons. The training occurs in two -hour blocks and students travel between Field Motor and Tuskegee University, about five minutes apart. Depending on when the training is planned, they can be on the basis until 10 p.m.
Mr. Sanders, originally from Pittsburgh who started flying in the army over 20 years ago and also serves as a pilot for United Airlines, described the four rating levels for students and potential pilots.
“The first private pilot license will allow them to control an airplane with someone on board in good weather, but not being paid,” he said. “It took the course of their first year – Ground School in the first half. And in the second semester, they are starting to fly, and it is usually around 70 hours to get time applied for this note.
“The coast of the instrument allows a student to pilot an airplane in bad weather and through the clouds,” he adds. “The private pilot cannot fly in the clouds. The instrument pilot uses [tools] On the plane to navigate through the weather, then they are certified. »»
The last two training phases are commercial pilots, for single-time planes, which allow pilots to be paid and the additional multi-motor module. During the program duration, students will receive the four notes. At the end of August, Isaiah Hand became the first Tuskegee student in the current program to receive his private pilot license.
Discussing the inheritance of the aviators also includes an uncomfortable truth – navigating in historical rhetoric suggesting that black pilots were not intelligent enough to pilot an airplane. A discriminatory report from 1925 Army War College entitled “The use of black labor in the war” has listed these incendiary and inaccurate anecdotes on black soldiers: “The negro does not accomplish its share of civilian duties in peacetime in proportion to its population. “His mental inferiority and the inherent weaknesses of his character are factors that must be taken into account with great care in the preparation of any plan for his job at war.”
Critics and the attempt to erase black pilots are more recent than a century ago. President Donald Trump’s attack on Dei’s initiatives initially led to the abolition of training videos, which included the aviators of Tuskegee and other famous black military websites. Last January, the late Charlie Kirk was criticized after this comment: “If I see a black pilot, I will be like” Boy, I hope he is qualified. “”
Critics and the attempt to erase black pilots are more recent than a century ago. President Donald Trump’s attack on Dei’s initiatives initially led to the abolition of training videos, which included the aviators of Tuskegee and other famous black military websites. On September 30, the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, said that “this administration did a lot from the first day to eliminate social justice, politically correct and toxic from ideological garbage that had infected our department, to snatch politics.” Last January, the late Charlie Kirk was criticized after this comment: “If I see a black pilot, I will be like” Boy, I hope he is qualified. “”
The director of Tuskegee recognized the accounts and currents which have shaped the determination of the aviators. Then, in the Aviator way, he took the high road.
“We have to keep the essentials, the essentials,” says Sanders. “When you are distracted by external entities and different ideologies, this can distract you from the observation of your goal. Our goal is to finish. To ensure you [students] Finish in time.
It is not a desperate or unhappy burden. Mr. White and Mr. Benson spoke of returning to their hometown with their shirts in aviation sciences and of being welcomed as a hero. In some respects, when Mr. Benson returns to his Alma Mater de Lycée, Eagles landing in McDonough, Georgia, he holds the promise of inspiring future generations.
“You have to commit your mind, your body, your soul and your time,” explains Mr. White. “But knowing that it can be done, that it has been done, we can continue this tradition.”
“One of the things I like to remind students is that they are in Tuskegee and while they are in the program, they have the luxury of looking around their class … and being able to see that there are people who look like them,” said Sanders.
“Once they leave Tuskegee, they will never see it again. They will probably always be the only black face in the room. They have a responsibility for excellence, ”he adds. “They are representative of this program, this inheritance, this story and have the inherent responsibility to confirm this in their advance in their careers.”
