Black History is American History. Black History is living history. Lookup Ensign Jesse L. Brown the first Black naval aviator and respected leader during the Korean War. The Red-Tailed Hawks are excited to announce Zander Hamilton has been selected for the 2022 Commander Naval Air Forces (CNAF) Flight Academy. This summer, Zander will complete his Private Pilot certification in a concentrated flight training program along with serval of his high school peers from around the country. Brown was the first and Zander certainly will not be last. Legacy Lift, Future Thrust…Jesse Leroy Brown was born in Mississippi, into a sharecropper family. He was a school athlete who excelled at math and dreamed of being a pilot from the time he was a young boy. On 21 October 1948, at the age of 22, Brown became the first Black man to complete Navy flight training. A public information officer released a photograph and story the next day with the headline, “First Negro Naval Aviator.” The story was picked up by the Associated Press and Brown's picture appeared in Life magazine. Brown, then a section leader, flew a Vought F4U-4 Corsair, and on 4 December 1950, on the way to Chosin Reservoir with his squadron, Brown was hit by enemy fire and crash-landed on the side of a mountain and died of his wounds. Ensign Jesse Brown posthumously received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Purple Heart and was honored when the USS Jesse L. Brown (DE-1089) was launched in 1973.#FlyHawks
The 10th Red-Tailed Hawks FLY is in the History Books! 2025 was a banner year for Red-Tailed Hawks Flight Lesson for Youth (FLY). For the first time, all the instructors were members of RTH. Our CFI Development Program is paying dividends. Further, as a class, the 2025 FLY Cadets exceeded exit exam expectations. We are
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RTH @ 2025 OBAP Annual Conference. What a great opportunity to show off the great things that are happening in the Pacific Northwest. What a great way to plant seeds for the One Thousand – One Hundred Campaign. If you stopped by the Red-Tailed Hawks Flying Club booth, we say thank you. If you missed
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The RTH Aviation Experience Brings STEM Joy to 50 Students. This annual 2-day experience, in June, introduced the world of aviation to Washington and Oregon students in grades 6-12. Friday was a virtual career panel and history lesson covering Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Saturday was an in-person experience at Pearson Field, Vancouver, WA including rocketry,
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The June Meeting Series @ Tacoma Narrows Airport. The Friday Zoom covered airport operations the accomplishments of South Korean astronaut Yi Soyeon and included multiple students reading their Continuing the Legacy in Aviation essays. We also highlighted RTH victory at Operation Skyhook. Saturday, we enjoyed the sun from the TIW Observation Deck, reviewed fundamentals of
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Red-Tailed Hawks Flying Club, BPA is growing, and we are in search of pilots, aerospace professionals, teachers and aviation enthusiasts to help us serve the community and increase the capacity of our programs. Find us at the OBAP Annual Convention Table 312, 6-9 August. Love what you do? Care about the development of the next
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Look for the Red-Tailed Hawks Flying Club (Table 312) at the 2025 OBAP Annual Conference, in the Tacoma, WA at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center (6-9 August). Learn about our year-around Youth Program, STEM camps and flight training. Find ways to contribute to the mission with your time and resources. The vision of Legacy Lift,
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