Chappie James Flight Academy soaring even higher thanks to $25,000 gift
The beauty of the sky, the feel of the air, the career opportunities and the important lessons learned is what the Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Flight Academy wants to introduce to every child who comes through its doors.
And on Monday it became a lot easier.
The Flight Academy was presented with a $25,000 check by Florida Power and Light to help improve any aspects of the program they wanted, which could include their building, technology, scholarships opportunities and more.
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Robert Helms, a staff member at the Flight Academy, said he has loved flying since his father introduced aviation to him at the age of 4.
"The studying was hard but as far as flying, I never considered it to be hard. I was never scared of it. I never really understood, I took it for granted,” Helms said. “It's just like driving a car but different, that’s all. But I didn't realize how much you have to give to people when you open this world up to them. It never ceases to amaze me, when you see the look on people's face, and it always clicks with me, ‘Don't take this for granted.’”
Helms believes the Flight Academy is an opportunity to introduce local children to new opportunities that they never knew existed.
Academy officials are still discussing how the FPL funding will be utilized, but some of the options include 3D headset simulators, expanding the building's audio and visual capabilities, and widening outreach efforts to things like partnerships with schools to expand beyond just a summer program.
The Gen. Daniel "Chappie" James Flight Academy is a nonprofit organization and free program open to all children between the ages of 13 to 18. The program was founded in 1996 when four licensed pilots wanted to do more than teach about piloting and instead use aviation to introduce young adults to STEM: science, technology, engineering and math. The academy uses flight simulators of different aircrafts to help children get accustomed to various controls, parts of the planes and the feeling of actually flying.
The camp includes team building and educational activities, field trips to the Coast Guard Flight Training Center and Tuskegee Airmen National Park and Museum, and culminates with fly time at Ferguson Airport.
J.T. Young, vice president and general manager of FP&L Northwest Florida region, recalled that Chappie James spoke at his alma mater Booker T. Washington High School when he was a senior.
Young remembers sitting and listening to James speaking about striving for excellence, inspiring people to think higher than where they were, and challenging him and his classmates to be their best and go far in life.
“The Flight Academy has done a great job in this community and this is what we consider as an investment in our community to make things better, particularly for our young people, for those who are seeking to explore careers that are either aviation (or) related STEM related,” Young said. “But this is a great opportunity and honor of someone who really focused on the importance of education. To see this and have this academy at this stage is really special. So we believe that it's viable and a great thing to do for the community.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola's Chappie James Flight Academy receives gift from FP&L
