The Boy Who Could Fly
Jamail Larkins helps students' imaginations take flight
by Elizabeth Hannum

While most 12-year-olds were just dreaming about what they wanted to be when they grew up, Jamail Larkins was fulfilling his dream in the skies above, trying to be a pilot. Seven years later, Larkins, an aviation business student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, has brought an ERAU tradition back by touring cities to get students interested in aviation careers.

Updating the ERAU-sponsored tour that first took place in 1926, Larkins visited 20 cities in a new Cirrus SR20 aircraft. The original tour took place not long after the Wright brothers' first flight with the purpose of gaining business for one of the school's founding fathers, John Riddle. At the participating schools, students were asked beforehand to write an essay to answer the question, "How do you envision the next century of flight?" Each school's winner won a flight with Larkins in the Cirrus aircraft the following Saturday, flying over the main attractions of that city.

For some of the high school winners, it was their first time in a plane. One memorable experience sticks out in Larkins' mind. "In Denver, there was one girl that had never been inside a plane before. Her entire family came to the local airport, and she was very nervous. She ended up loving the flight and screaming at her parents when she landed that she was going to be a pilot," he says.

Larkins has a vision of his own for next century's air travel. "I think commercial space travel will be feasible, and aircraft ownership will be significantly cheaper than it currently is," he says.

Turning his first vision into a reality, Larkins soloed a powered plane in Canada in 1998, where he became one of the youngest American pilots at age 14. Two years later, he flew a newly developed single-engine airplane in the United States and became the first and youngest person ever to solo that aircraft. He's accumulated more than 510 hours in the air in more than 33 types of planes, flying throughout the United States and Canada. Despite so much time in the clouds, Larkins' feet remain planted firmly on the ground. "I'm on the road a lot, and when I get the chance, spending time with friends and family is what I like to do best," he says.

Larkins is the national spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association Vision of Eagles Program-a youth education initiative-and Careers in Aviation, a nonprofit organization. As spokesman for both groups, he promotes opportunities for young people across the country interested in aviation. With the help of the tour, Larkins put students who wanted to learn more about aviation in touch with a Careers in Aviation representative or a Vision of Eagles coordinator in their area. Yet Larkins believes he's just giving back what the community deserves. "I think we all have a responsibility to do something positive in our communities. This is just one way I'm giving back to mine," he says.

Contact Jamail Larkins at jamail@careersinaviation.org.

Copyright © 2006 Oxendine Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved