Sacramento Youth Program Sends Students Sky-High With Tuskegee Airmen

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - They've seen the kind of adventure you typically only see in the movies, and now some of the Tuskegee Airmen are sharing their experiences -- giving kids the opportunity to see what it's like to fly.

"I got to fly a plane," said Michael Bristow, a cadet in the Tuskegee Airmen Youth Aviation program. "I just turned the plane a little bit and kept it on track."

It's something Bristow, "Ace" as he's known, has waited a while to do. Through an afterschool program at Harmon Johnson Elementary School, students can learn about aviation.

"I'm bringing these opportunities to them because they don't get them, unless they're exposed to them," said Tuskegee Airmen Youth Aviation Director Col. Thomas Sherman.

Sherman says most of these students come from low-income families. So, this helps them start thinking about their future.

"If you don't put them in some organized activity, you notice they're in uniform. Then the gangs are going to do that. They're going to give them colors," said Sherman.

James Gardner started out in the program several years ago. He is still two years away from graduating from high school, but already has his future mapped out.

"I have a foundation. I'm going to keep on going and have people pushing me forward," he said.

For many of the kids, it was their first time in an airplane -- not to mention their first time using knowledge from the classroom while up in the air.

This is all for one goal.

"To give them a vision of what they can become," Sherman.

The pilots donated their time and gas to take the kids flying. This is the fourth year the Tuskegee Airmen have done this.