Barrington Irving
Barrington Irving (born November 11, 1983) is a Jamaican-born American pilot who previously held the record for the youngest person to pilot a plane around the world solo, a feat he accomplished in 2007. He is also the first black person and first Jamaican to accomplish this feat. His airplane, a Columbia 400 (Cessna Corvalis 400), is named the "Inspiration", and was manufactured and assembled by the Columbia Aircraft Mfg. Co. in 2005, classified as a standard aircraft in the utility category using over $300,000 in donated parts.

Early life and education

Irving was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Miami, Florida. He is a graduate of Miami Northwestern Senior High School. He turned down multiple football scholarship offers with his sights set on aviation, studying at Broward Community College and Florida Memorial University, where he graduated with honors.

Career

After graduation, he founded Experience Aviation, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering minority youth to pursue careers in aviation. His airplane, the "Inspiration", has been registered to Experience Aviation since 2006.

Irving's record was broken in 2012 by the 22-year-old Swiss Carlo Schmid and in 2014 by 19-year-old Matt Guthmiller.

Awards and recognition

In 2007 Barrington received a Congressional Resolution for his pioneering work in education in technology. In 2012 he was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer. Among other honors, he holds the NASA Trailblazer Award, the Guinness World Record and the NBAA 2019 American Spirit Award.

References

External links
Experience Aviation -  includes GPS-enabled flight tracker
uVu -  exclusive video highlights of historic trip; keyword search: Barrington

1983 births
Living people
Aviators from Florida
Jamaican emigrants to the United States
Jamaican people of American descent
People from Miami
Commanders of the Order of Distinction
American aviation record holders
Broward College alumni