Flight academy helps youth discover: ‘OK, I can do this’

Underserved communities are focus of ACE school.

Malcom Robinson’s imagination soared as a child with the airplanes he saw flying.

During car rides with his parents along the backroads to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Malcolm would dream of one day piloting a plane himself — a dream fueled by the distant hum of jets lined along the runways.

At age 10, his mother sensed his passion, he says, and took him to Aviation Career Enrichment flight school, known as ACE, for a 30-minute flight in a small airplane. He later enrolled in the academy and flew his first solo flight at age 16.

Robinson, 34, now is a flight instructor and chief ground instructor at ACE, a nonprofit flight academy that provides low-cost instruction to youth, with a focus on those from underserved communities. The academy was founded by Julius Alexander in 1980 and has churned out dozens of professional pilots, including some who now fly commercial airliners.

Robinson said he remembers positioning his feet just before landing and accidentally kicking one of the controls on that first flight.

“It made the nose kind of jump to the right and I remember that being kind of jolting at the time,” Robinson said. “But after that, I lined it back up and came down and landed it pretty good on my first attempt. Back on the ground (I was) like, ‘OK, I can do this.’”

Students get wing pins when they complete their solo flight at ACE. Alexander, the 87-year-old founder, gave Robinson the wing pin off his shirt after that flight.

“It meant a lot — a ton,” Robinson said. “There are so many memories growing up here at the school.”

Alexander started ACE in a trailer at Fulton County Airport, also known as Charlie Brown Field, offering Saturday classes for a dozen students for $12 per month. Today, ACE has 92 students between the ages of nine and 18. The monthly cost is $140.

More than 300 students are on the wait list for the youth academy, said Julius Alexander’s son, Patrick, who is president and CEO of the organization and a Delta Air Lines pilot.

The school is working to raise funds through grants and donations to help build a 12,000-square-foot hangar at the airfield. The hanger would accommodate the fleet of planes, classrooms and offices, Patrick Alexander said.

Students move to advanced classes at ACE during years of study. They learn ground knowledge and aviation theory, and take “discovery flights” as passengers with their instructors. At 15½, students can start flying the plane with an instructor beside them. At age 16, students can take their first solo flight.

Isaiah Mallory, 17, recently earned a private pilot’s license, which allows him to fly a plane in clear weather with a passenger. When The Atlanta Journal-Constitution visited, Mallory was seated in a simulator with an instructor learning to fly in cloudy and adverse weather conditions.

“I will try to build up my flight hours to get to my commercial licenses,” he said.

More than 3,500 students have attended the flight school, Patrick Alexander said. There are 45 ACE graduates who fly professionally, and many return to volunteer at the academy.

“Twenty of those are pilots with Delta,” he said. “All of them credit ACE for giving them a firm foundation.”

The flight school has six planes. Young students train in two Cessna 172s and a Piper Warrior. There also are three planes for advanced training: a Comanche and two Cessna 310s.

ACE is operated by a mostly all-volunteer staff with the exception of mechanics and instructors who give private flying lessons to individuals who are not in the youth academy, Patrick Alexander said.

ACE also has an adult program.

A goal of the youth program is to introduce aviation to Black youth who might not have exposure to piloting an aircraft, Patrick Alexander said. He remembers his father’s stories of teaching English as well as aviation at Price High School in the 1960s (Price now is a middle school).

“One of the things I remember my father telling me is that he used to be criticized by his co-workers” for teaching aviation, Alexander said. “They used to say: ‘Why are you teaching these kids something they can’t attain?’”

Two former students of the elder Alexander now are retired airline pilots, his son said.

“This is a very expensive career field to get into,” said Hampton McDonald, 28, a Delta pilot and volunteer chief flight instructor at ACE. “Statistically most people get into aviation as adults, unless they have an aviation history in their family. My kids luckily will have that opportunity, but I didn’t come from that.”