Barrington Irving, the youngest pilot and the first African American to fly solo around the world, will welcome 50 students from Las Vegas’s Rancho High School to hear his inspirational story and view NBAA convention center exhibits tomorrow. Irving will meet the students between 9 a.m. and noon at the Turbine Aircraft Services booth (No. C6920). NBAA show attendees are welcome as well. 

Irving, who grew up in a poor Miami community and overcame economic and social obstacles to become a pilot and educator, leads the Mitsubishi MU-2 Dream & Soar Program in the U.S.

 “NBAA supports efforts to inspire the next generation of visionaries to consider careers in aviation,” said Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO. “We salute Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America and Barrington Irving for their outstanding work to ensure that our nation’s youth have access to the exciting and rewarding opportunities the industry has to offer.”

Said Irving, “It’s exciting for me to see the wonder in the students’ eyes as they view the exhibits at NBAA, and I will do all I can to stoke that fire of excitement and motivate a student to become a professional aviator.” 

The Mitsubishi MU-2 Dream & Soar Program has been sponsored by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA) for the last four years for students in cities across the U.S., reaching an estimated 10,000 young people with interest in math, science and aviation.

PROP Programs

MHIA also joins with SimCom and Honeywell to make the semi-annual Pilot’s Review of Proficiency (PROP) program free to the MU-2 community and others who may want to attend. Four cities will host the 2012 PROP seminars, which are credited with resulting in safer flying for Mitsubishi MU-2 owners and operators.

Attendees at the two-day seminars will cover technical issues, accident analysis, use of Nexrad, review of the MU-2 training special FAR (SFAR), operational tips and techniques, engine operations and safety management systems.

Honeywell TPE331 engine courses will be offered on the Wednesday and Thursday prior to the PROP seminars at Dallas (March 30 and 31) and Columbus, Ohio (May 18 and 19). SimCom’s nonpilot demonstration courses will take place on the second day of all PROP seminars. The other locations are Orlando (April 13 and 14) and Reno (May 4 and 5).

The first PROP was held in 1982, discontinued for a time, and then held regularly from 1994 to the present. PROP information is attuned to the three-year-old SFAR requiring initial, recurrent and requalification training for all MU-2 pilots. The SFAR and PROP are a large factor in the MU-2’s greatly improved safety record–only one fatal accident in the last five years. Those interested in attending PROP 2012 can visit www.mu-2aircraft.com for details.

MU-2 product support is administered by Turbine Aircraft Services (TAS) at Addison Airport near Dallas, Texas. “We will continue to concentrate on the most pressing operational techniques and fundamentals,” said Pat Cannon, TAS president. “The nonpilot demonstration course, for instance, is designed for a passenger to get the plane on the ground without a pilot’s help and to be able to walk away.”

AIN subscribers voted the MU-2 product support program the leader for 10-year-and-older turboprops in the magazine’s 2011 Product Support Survey. Cannon called the recognition “one of the most prestigious and meaningful awards in general aviation. Good product support and education literally save lives.”