Young minority students learn to fly

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Some of them don't even have their driver's licenses yet. But they're getting behind the controls and learning to fly.

The Black Pilot's Association and Texas Southern University are putting on the Les Morris BPA Summer Flight Academy. It's two weeks of intensive training and education for young people, an effort to get them excited about flying and their potential participation of a career in the field of aviation. They are given specialized instruction in navigation, proper pre-flight planning and guidance on inflight requirements.

This year, nine, carefully selected students are receiving 10 hours of flight time and 40 hours of ground school. The students, aged 15-19, must maintain at least a "B" average in school and were selected only after completing applications and an in person interview.

The students must earn scholarships for the program. Those are valued at about $3,000 each. They are housed at TSU throughout the two week program. Instructors donate their time volunteering for the academy. Les Morris, a retired pilot, helped start it back in 1972 in Tuskegee, Alabama. It's been in Houston since 2004.

For more on the program you can visit bpapilots.org.