For 17-year-old Gabriel Carothers of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Black History Month is not about the past because he’s making it in real time. When the teenager turned 17, he made history as the state’s youngest African-American licensed pilot.

“I wasn’t really thinking about making history, I was just thinking about flying and doing what I like to do everyday,” Carothers told KOAT.

Carothers is no stranger to the friendly skies. He recalled one of his earliest moments his father took him and his brother up in the air.

“My father had a family friend who had an airplane that used to fly us. He thought it’d definitely be interesting to take me and my brother up for a flight when we were 5 and 6 years old,” Carothers said.

The teenage pilot completed his private pilot check ride just 10 days after his 17th birthday on July 25. The young aviator followed in the footsteps of his father, who is a retired U.S. Air Force pilot.

Carothers’ father, Alex Carothers, is the president of the General Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., which is registered as a nonprofit. The organization, named after the first African-American pilot in the Air Force Thunderbirds, exposes 60 young people from underrepresented communities to aviation and STEM with a hands-on aviation camp.

In 2017, at 11 years old, Gabriel Carothers participated in his father’s camp. At the time, he said his favorite part was flying a Cessna and his least favorite part was the reading material prior to taking off.

Carothers grew to love all aspects of aviation. He said he designed and built his own flight simulator computer when he was 14 years old to hone his skills for when he is in an actual cockpit.

Source: ‘An Outstanding Role Model’: His Father Was a U.S. Air Force Pilot. Now At 17 Years Old, Gabriel Carothers Just Became the Youngest Black Pilot In New Mexico’s History.