A 16-year-old boy who learned to fly at Compton/Woodley Airport is aiming to become the youngest pilot to fly solo around the Earth, taking aim at an entry in the Guinness World Records.
But first, Isaiah Cooper intends to break another barrier: he wants to become the youngest African-American pilot to fly around the continental United States.
He departed on that attempt Tuesday morning, leaving from outside Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum at the Compton Airport, where he was a member of an at-risk youth program that teaches local children to fly.
“I’m so happy that I get this opportunity,” Cooper said. “Most people don’t.”
He hopes his flight will inspire other teens.
His mother just wants him to call home every time he lands. She cried at her son’s departure event, which brought dozens of family members and friend to the airport before takeoff.
Cooper and his flight instructor Roger Azad will fly from California to Washington state, to Maine, down to Florida and back across the country, with several stops along the route. They’ll fly about eight hours a day.
The attempt is a practice flight for the larger goal, which Cooper hopes to complete next year.
“It’s making him truly believe he can do anything he wants to,” said Robin Petgrave, who founded the museum and flight program.
The current Guinness record-holder for the youngest person to fly solo around the world is Matthew Guthmiller, who finished his flight in El Cajon, in San Diego County, at age 19 in July 2014.
Cooper wants to break the record when he is 18. An 18-year-old Australian man is trying to break the record now.