Today, nearly 80 years after WWII, the Tuskegee Airmen’s single-minded determination to break down barriers to achieve their goals still inspires young aviators around the world.
“Our mission is to use aviation as an aspirational platform to expose, recruit, develop, and place underrepresented talent with an emphasis on candidates of color in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen,” states Carlos Rodriguez, Executive Director of the RedTail Flight Academy. “The Academy was created to provide scholarship flight training for deserving youth who would not normally have that opportunity. Our simple goal is to diversify the sky.
“The Academy is one of four parts of the organization,” Rodriguez continues. “We are a nonprofit flight school providing private, multi-engine, instrument, and commercial training to our scholarship students. We also leverage donations to help develop the next generation of aviation leaders. Not only pilots but maintainers, dispatchers, and any of the many other aviation-related careers available today.”
Pilots Are Just Part of the Solution
Rodriguez says that one of RedTail’s biggest challenges is that not many underserved students, or high school guidance counselors for that matter, ever think of aviation as a career option.
“We are directly connected to the Tuskegee Airmen’s 53 national chapters, and we use that as a strong pipeline to identify and educate our candidates about what it takes to get into aviation,” he explains. “Anyone who wants to apply to the Academy must have passed the FAA Private Pilot written exam. But the scholarship is just the beginning. They have to perform at every level. Nobody is going to just let them through. It’s all about safety and being qualified no matter who you are.
“Success is not guaranteed, but we provide a great opportunity for anyone to get into the aviation industry,” Rodriguez adds. “No matter where you come from, the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen is something that can help change lives, and an industry, for the better.”
The Solution
- Inspired by the Tuskegee Airmen and designed to introduce aviation careers to underserved youth
- Scholarship-based flight school provides private up to commercial, multi-engine ratings
- All-volunteer program has helped students throughout the U.S. and the Caribbean