Fifteen-year-old Pilot Breaks Records in Flight Across U.S.
When most young people talk about flying across the country they mean booking a flight and letting someone else pilot the plane. Not in the case of Kimberly Anyadike, a 15-year-old Nigerian born student who in July became the youngest African-American female to fly solo across the United States.
The trip began in Compton Woodley Airport in Los Angeles, not too far from her hometown of Inglewood and ended in Newport News Va. on July 14th. She piloted a single-engine Cessna from the west coast to the east coast with several landings and takeoffs in between her arrival in Virginia.
She made 11 stops in between California and Newport News and during each stop she met with members of the Tuskegee airmen who were the inspiration for her trip. The Tuskegee airmen were African-American pilots who flew airplanes during World War II and never lost a mission during a time when many people with prejudiced views did not believe that African Americans had the skills and abilities to fly planes. A retired airman Tuskegee airman Levi Thornhill, 86, accompanied Anyadike for every mile of the entire trip
The Tuskegee Airmen’s heroic and universally successful missions through dangerous enemy territory put that myth to rest, just as Anyadike has also put to rest some beliefs about young girls being able to fly with the best of them. According to a recent news article, Kimberly faced some doubters but did not give up on her dream.
“I’ve been underestimated a lot since I am girl. There have been a lot of male instructors who will be like, just sit back and I will do this and I will be like no, watch me. I can do this, you know,” Anyadike said.
She learned to fly at age 12 as a student of Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum in Compton. A program began by Robert Petgrave, a Hollywood stunt pilot 12 years ago to provide young people with a positive outlet.
Flying seems to be a family affair for Anyadike as she follows in the footsteps of her sister Kelly, 17, who became the youngest African-American woman to fly four solo planes in one day.
Anyadike plans to continue to do amazing things and looks to become a private pilot as well as a cardiovascular surgeon. She plans to attend Harvard University or Stanford and is already taking college classes in Los Angeles. She studies dance, can read music and is learning to play several instruments including the piano.
Without a doubt, there is no limit to how high she and young people can fly when given the right opportunities.