Mile High Flight Program inspires diverse youth to explore aviation careers
DENVER (KDVR) — A special initiative aimed at inspiring youth to explore careers in aviation and STEM-related fields is taking flight.
Sponsored by the Denver Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, the Mile High Flight Program works to increase youth understanding of aviation and aerospace industries while sharing the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military pilots.
Roman Wilkerson, along with dozens of other students from across the state, gathered at Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Aviation and Aerospace Science to learn how to develop a flight plan and fly a single-engine simulator.
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“Being in the program has really gotten me to push myself beyond my limits,” Wilkerson said. “My overall goal is to become a pilot, join an airline and really get to see more of the world.”
Eric Mosley, a United Airlines captain and son of late Tuskegee airman John Mosley, is one of the founding coordinators of the program.
“The focus and the foundation of the program is aviation, but it’s much more than that. We visit a lot of places where students get to learn about STEM and aerospace opportunities,” Mosley said. “At the end of the day, we want our students to understand that through hard work and a good flight plan, there’s really nothing that they can’t succeed in if they really put their minds to it.”
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Former students like Thomas Fortson, now a United Airlines pilot instructor, said this program gave him his start in aviation.
“It’s like a time capsule a little bit,” Fortson said. “Just walking down the halls, I can still hear the laughter and just the good times I had with the friends I made here.”
A labor of love, Mosley said they have pilots from every demographic that can connect with each student in the program.
“Seeing the successes that our students have had over the years, that pays off in ways that are almost impossible to describe,” Mosley said.
Mosley’s work, along with countless others, is now serving as an inspiration for the next generation of aviation students.
“Study hard, work hard,” Wilkerson said. “It may be tiring, and you may have to write four essays on the same day, but in the end it will all be worth it.”
MSU Denver has been working with the Mile High Flight Program for 28 years.
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