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<\/p>\nAviation news international – As a young boy growing up in the high desert town of Palmdale in the early 1960s, Willie Daniels knew he wanted to fly airplanes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got the bug to fly back when I was About 5 or 6 years old. At the airshows, I would see these guys flying and jumping out and parachuting out of the airplanes. I thought that was fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Decades later, in 1986, Daniels achieved his dream of becoming a pilot.\u00a0 He retired from Delta Airlines after 42 years of service. \u00a0As a way of passing on the same career opportunity he had to future generations, Daniels founded Shades of Blue in 1999.\u00a0 The aviation training program builds a foundation for young people interested in aviation and aerospace careers. The program tracks its students from middle school through college, helps them obtain their pilots license and navigate the airline\u2019s hiring process.\u00a0 \u00a0NASA pilot and astronaut Victor Glover is one of the organization\u2019s most notable members.<\/p>\n
Shades of Blue held its third Airline Symposium of the year at San Bernardino International Airport recently.\u00a0 Over 200 students attended the 2-day symposium which showcased a variety of airline positions available including pilots, transportation security administration (TSA) agents, ground crew, maintenance mechanics and more.\u00a0 Airline personnel and flight schools were on-site to provide information on career opportunities.<\/p>\n
According to airline industry projections, in the next 25 years there will be a worldwide shortage of 804,000 pilots, 914,000 flight attendants, 769,000 aircraft mechanics and technicians.\u00a0 At the present rate, airlines will need to hire an average of 14,500 new pilots each year until 2030 to get ahead of the shortage.<\/p>\n
At the symposium, young attendees used flight simulators to fly around the world, steered miniature robotic vehicles using hand-held remote controls, learned the basics of aerodynamics by flying paper airplanes and sat in the cockpit of private airplanes.\u00a0 They also learned first-hand from employees the requirements and qualifications of many airline and airport positions.<\/p>\n
Parents and students listened as Shades of Blue member Tenesha Wallace recounted her circuitous journey to become a commercial pilot after falling in love with flying at the age of 15.\u00a0 After running out of money five hours short of completing the requirement for a private pilot license, Wallace enlisted in the military where she served for five years and subsidized her flying lessons. \u00a0Afterwards, Wallace became a flight instructor, worked for a regional airline, followed by a private corporate outfit where she flew wealthy executives around the globe.\u00a0 Her hard work paid off when she was hired by Delta in August 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the most rewarding thing I\u2019ve ever done, just to get there,\u201d said Wallace.\u00a0 \u201cAll the sacrifice, all the hard work, the time I put through to get there.\u00a0 I finally made it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson was a key partner in bringing the symposium to San Bernardino International Airport and connecting the event to the San Bernardino City Unified School District, the nonprofit Athletes for Life and Expanded Learning \u2013 Sunrise\/CAPS .<\/p>\n
Robertson has a long history of involvement with youth and aviation.\u00a0 Her longtime colleague Community Build, Inc. President Robert Sausedo introduced her to Daniels in 2013.\u00a0 The three had a shared passion for supporting youth through career training and mentoring.\u00a0 In 2014, as a part of the Deborah Robertson Foundation, she partnered with Daniels to produce the Rialto Aerospace Shades of Blue Academy.\u00a0 The eight-week training courses provided youth with the fundamentals of aviation and prepared them to earn a private pilot\u2019s license.\u00a0 The academy operated for six years until forced to shut down in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids learn best when it\u2019s hands-on and there was plenty of hands-on learning here. These kids and their parents are going to remember this.\u201d Mayor Robertson said.\u00a0 \u201cI feel proud to once again host a Shades of Blue aviation event.\u00a0 I feel like we\u2019ve come full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shades of Blue aviation symposium partners included San Bernardino International Airport, San Bernardino Valley College Aeronautics, Mt. San Antonio College, STEM Pilot, Athletes for Life, Deborah Roberts Foundation, Marcus Heart Foundation, Community Build, Inc., Expanded Learning, Texas Instruments, Porpoise Robotics, Southern California Association of Governments, and California Baptist University.<\/p>\n
The next Shades of Blue Aviation Symposium will be in Ontario in November followed by Los Angeles.\u00a0 For more information on Shades of Blue, visit ourshadesofblue.org.<\/p>\n