"Welcome Back" Sign Being Hung For Wednesday's Return To Miami

With just two stops before completing the journey that would make him the youngest person and the first black pilot to fly solo around the Earth, Barrington Irving had a message for young people.

"I think this shows it doesn't matter where you come from, what you have or what you don't have," Irving said after climbing out of his single-engine Columbia 400, named Inspiration, reported the Associated Press.

Irving equipped his plane with more than $300,000 in donated parts. As ANN reported, he took off from Florida on March 23 in his bid to become the youngest person and first of African descent to fly solo around the globe.

He had planned to fly last year, but a lack of funding delayed his $1 million project. He's since received support from a variety of corporate and other sponsors.

After a final stop in Alabama, Irving will return to Opa-locka Executive Airport outside Miami on Wednesday to complete his journey.

Irving's plane is dotted with stickers of small flags of several of the countries he visited, including Spain, Italy, Greece and Japan. His 21,000-mile trip included stops in Cleveland and New York before passing into Canada, then crossing the Atlantic, through Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

He said the most challenging part of the trip was weather, which delayed some legs, and keeping his mind occupied during the long flights.

Landing small planes in some foreign countries, he said, can be a challenge but he managed with the help of a savvy ground crew.

"There were some very tough times due to weather," Irving said. "There were times I was very frustrated."

The trip, planned for five weeks, has been primarily delayed by weather; Irving said his group is still raising money to pay for costs incurred by the extended trip.

In Houston, Universal Weather and Aviation mapped Irving's trip, while Chevron Global Aviation donated fuel for some of the flight and all the training.

Keith Foreman, master trip support specialist with Universal Weather, said the flight took longer than expected because the aircraft is sensitive to weather and has no de-icing equipment. Foreman helped Irving with visas in foreign countries, landing permits, fuel, ground transportation and hotels.

Irving called Foreman his "guardian angel" for the trip.

The Florida Memorial University (FMU) student was born in Jamaica and grew up in Miami. He became interested in aviation at age 15 when then-United Airlines pilot Capt. Gary Robinson approached Irving at his parents' bookstore in Miami and asked if he had ever thought about being a pilot.

"You know, I just looked at him crazy and I was a bit shocked because he was in this airline uniform," Irving said. "I was shocked that he approached me and asked me if I wanted to become a pilot. I basically told him 'I don't think I'm smart enough to do it.'"

Irving later visited Robinson at the airport, and he has been thrilled by aviation ever since. The pilot has since become Irving's mentor.

That was all it took for Irving to turn his sights towards becoming a professional pilot, turning down college football scholarships along the way.

Irving has both his private and commercial pilot licenses, and between his studies at FMU, Florida, he founded Experience Aviation, a Miami-based organization that encourages minority youths to pursue aviation careers in 2005.

Several others have made solo flights, but none likely mirrors Irving's goal of wanting to get black and poor children interested in the aviation industry, reported the Houston Chronicle.

"I just wanted to prove to other kids that the aviation industry needs young people and you, too, can achieve whatever dream that you want in aviation," he said of his reason for flying around the world. "And it doesn't matter where you come from or your economic status."

He said a book and documentary are likely as well as other projects.

"I have a lot of great ideas," Irving said.

FMI: www.experienceaviation.org, www.fmuniv.edu