DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – A $500,000 grant given to the Detroit Tuskegee Airmen National Museum means that 30 Detroit students will receive flight training at the Detroit City Airport. With a class slated to start as soon as May 18th, the students will be flying high soon thanks to this great opportunity.

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The grant was announced on Friday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Students between the ages of 14 and 19 who have a GPA of at least 2.0 are eligible for the program.

Brian Smith, president of the museum said in a written statement, “Getting your driver’s license at 16 has always been an exciting rite of passage for teenagers. Today, we are giving them the chance to do more than drive a car around town. We’re giving them the opportunity to learn how to fly a plane around the world and launch into a future as an American aviators.”

With the new funding, an additional flight instructor will be hired. In the class, students will learn about aviation careers and receive basic training in piloting.

Tuskegee Airmen National Museum board member Leroy Richie says their flight academy program has been a success. In a written statement she said, “This year we have a 90% retention rate for kids in our aviation academy. Our hope is all these students will go on and become pilots, drone pilots, and aerospace engineers. Someone coming through this program may one day find themselves piloting a space shuttle. The sky is no longer the limit.”

The museum, which is also in Detroit, offers many youth programs in addition to piloting including drone piloting lessons, airplane mechanic familiarization, rocketry and more.

Yahoo Entertainment reports that “The Tuskegee Airmen were the American military’s first all-African American fighter pilot squadron. The national museum in Detroit is a space to honor the bravery and history of the pilots and crews who served in World War II.”