Moss Point student pilots cruising the skies

Following up on a story we first brought you in January, Moss Point High students are soaring to new heights through the school district’s new aviation academy.

If you spot a small airplane in Jackson County, you may have caught a glimpse of two Moss Point High student pilots surfing the clouds on their way to gaining their wings. Chief Pilot Quintin Duper said, “They’re already at their fifth sixth seventh flight and they’re able to make radio calls with the air traffic control they’re able to do a takeoff unassisted.”

James Spain II and Linal Tickles Jr. are pioneers in the state of Mississippi. Moss Point is the first public school district in Mississippi to offer flight classes.

The students work through Aspire Aviation at Trent Lott International Airport. Tickles says his first experience was his first flight. “I was kind of nervous because he told me I could fly. I was like you for real ‘he was like yea.’ I was having fun because all we were doing was just turning and stuff. I had fun doing it.”

“I wasn’t calling the calls to the tower but now I’m comfortable enough while I’m not only doing it when I take off but when I’m about to land. So, with my instructors and prayers with the Lord, you know I’m comfortable with doing it and not stressed.”

Currently, the students have passed their written FAA flight exam. Now, they are doing actual flight instruction. They’ll be piloting by themselves before long as a final step to achieving their private pilot license. “They are teaching me how to be leader and stuff they teaching me I can improve my talking, my social skills, my everything.”

Spain said, “Make sure to control my altitude specially today, especially with the clouds very low keep it around a thousand. And then my air speed around 85.  Between that the air speed and you know that’s what I’m trying to get better on.”

Tickles and Spain both say they hope to be an inspiration to others in the Moss Point school system to take the program to new heights. “It’s a good opportunity right here. You get paid a lot. And you have fun. You travel a lot to. You going to have fun doing it, you won’t be bored.”

“We want that next generation of aviators to come from this soil. You know, we don’t we don’t want to have to outsource that. We want to bring that up internally. And have students grow up in the Moss Point City School system and then be able to get jobs right here in this area.”