July 19, 2025
Tuskegee College is reviving its historic ties to aviation with the launch of a brand new Aviation Science program.
Tuskegee College is charting a brand new course for college students with the launch of its Aviation Science program — a significant that’s already serving to college students take flight.
“Flying was wonderful,” Tuskegee scholar Willie Murdock advised WSFA, who lately accomplished his first solo flight. “I felt good and assured. I wasn’t nervous in any respect. Simply the sensation while you take off good and clean. It’s an exquisite feeling.”
In accordance to WSFA, the brand new program, primarily based on the historic Moton Area — house of the historic Tuskegee Airmen — goals to organize college students to earn their FAA business pilot certificates.
The Tuskegee Airmen had been the primary Black navy pilots within the U.S. Military Air Corps, educated at Tuskegee Institute throughout World Struggle II.
For Murdock and his Tuskegee classmates, it’s not nearly flying planes, but in addition about persevering with a strong legacy.
“It’s extraordinarily humbling,” Murdock mentioned.
“It’s glorious to stroll within the footsteps of giants like them. It jogs my memory I’m doing one thing a lot larger than myself.”
Dr. Javed Khan, who leads the Aerospace Science Engineering Division, mentioned this system marks an thrilling new chapter for the college.
“We’re lastly in a position to reignite the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen,” he mentioned. “We simply launched our Aviation Science Program.”
For fellow scholar Vontasia Smith, taking her first solo flight was a strong milestone in a discipline the place Black girls stay vastly underrepresented.
“They actually do put together me for this second. I’ve a fantastic teacher,” Smith mentioned. “Up to now I’ve realized the ideas of the plane, how elevate works, and issues like that.”
Smith is particularly pleased with the instance she’s setting. “It’s essential for me to proceed the legacy,” she mentioned. “Additionally, being an African American feminine, it’s thrilling to me to be that .1% contributing to assist us develop as a society.”
With its first cohort now flying solo, this system has sparked widespread curiosity. Based on Tuskegee College, the waitlist for Aviation Science is already rising.
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