“I didn’t realize it was a challenge. I just thought it was something cool.”
Barrington was the first African-American to fly around the world solo; in so doing, he overcame multiple storms as well as the lack of a bathroom.
As an educator, Barrington engages kids in math and science and building airplanes (which he actually flies!).
In 2007, Barrington Irving became the first African American and the youngest person at that time to pilot a plane around the world solo. When he eventually landed back at the Miami airport where he started, Barrington began to use his achievement as a way to reach young people. His educational foundation, Experience Aviation, works to “lift today’s youth to a higher plane.”
Original funding for "The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers" was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
