Becoming the Red-Tailed Hawks

After two years of business planning and networking during hikes, the Red-Tailed Hawks Flying Club (RTH) formed on November 23, 2013. Fifteen people – including eight students – attended the first RTH experience at New Beginning Christian Fellowship, Kent, WA. Participants enjoyed aerospace related STEM activities and shared the history of the Tuskegee Airmen. At the end, the simple question was “Do we want to do this again?” The answer was a resounding Yes!

In that same meeting, we named ourselves. The club name came from several inspirations after mulling over several brainstormed suggestions including Silver Surfers and Bronze Eagles West. In the end, we settled on the red-tailed hawks, which are prolific birds living all over the United States and are adaptable to differed climates. “Red-Tailed Hawks” is a reference to the famed 332 nd Fighter Group “Redtails” of World War II to please the adults in the room. There is also the sentimental connection to the local Seattle Seahawks football team to please the youth in the room.

RTH received a charter from Black Pilots of America, Inc. (BPA) on January 17, 2014. BPA is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization. EIN 86-0852905

The first RTH Board Officers were Jesse D. Hayes IV, president; Kiki Tatah Mentan, vice president; Chazmin Peters, chief pilot; Gregory Shaw, treasurer; Kamaria DeChabert, secretary