The DreamLaunch Tour: Greenville and Atlanta

Jamail Larkins is touring the United States as part of The DreamLaunch Tour, a 'barnstorming' effort to get youngsters in middle schools and high schools thinking about careers in aviation. Jamail continues the tour in Greenville, S.C., and Atlanta, Ga.

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I have always enjoyed meeting people of all ages and hearing their personal life stories, career choices, and most important, their future dreams and ambitions. I’ve been fortunate to meet many interesting people over the past eight years who have completely opened my eyes to the numerous opportunities that really exist in the world. At each event or appearance I have made since the age of 14, I have had at least one person who has taught me something that I still remember to this day. Many times, it’s not the most famous or interesting person in the room, it’s just one of the people I have the opportunity to interact with, who teaches me something about life, and many times, something about myself. Hearing first-hand the obstacles some of the people (of all ages) have overcome to accomplish their dreams has really inspired me to do my best to achieve my dreams in the future.When the concept for this tour developed, I never thought it was going to be something that would teach me a lot about myself, and open my eyes even wider. But the first four stops on the tour have done exactly that. I recently had the opportunity to visit Atlanta, Ga. I spent time with the 4th and 5th graders at Cary Reynolds Elementary School, and I had the opportunity to make a special presentation at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

I love speaking to young kids and hearing their questions: “How high can you fly?” “What’s it like to fly an airplane?” “Do you get scared when you’re up there by yourself?” “What’s it like to fly through clouds?” And the look of disbelief on their faces when I give them the answers is absolutely amazing. I also love the look of surprise when three of the students find out that, through writing essays about the future of aviation, they have won a Young Eagles flight with me in the Cirrus SR20. I’m reminded then what I was like when I took my first Young Eagles flight eight years ago.At the same time, I love speaking to young adults. The Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport hosted a program for Black History Month, featuring Col. Chuck Dryden, an original Tuskegee Airmen; Paul Graves, VP of Global Diversity & Community Affairs at Delta Air Lines; and myself. I was extremely impressed with the students in the audience. Their career aspirations are impressive, unique, and well thought-out. I’ve had an inkling of what I’ve wanted to do (career wise) since I started flying, but some of the students knew exactly what their future careers are, and what they need to accomplish them. It was also interesting to hear their views on the aviation industry’s future. I may be well off-base, but I think if we can attract just a few of the students I have met during the first four stops of the DreamLaunch tour, our industry will be very successful in the future.


Winning Essays — Cary Reynolds Elementary School, Doraville, Ga. (near Atlanta)

“What do you think the next 100 years of flight will bring to humans?”


By Murphy

In the next 100 years I think many great things will happen. Think that our spacecrafts will get adjustments they might get skinnier, ligther, and faster. I also think that new airplanes or jets will be invented. Maybe airplanes will be able to go around the world in very little time. In the future there might be an airplane that can actually move like a bird! The future for jets will probably be very different. I think that someone will invent a jet that can turn invisible! They might also be able to go faster than a space shuttle. Speaking of space shuttles, I think that space shuttles will be able to go to many interesting- places like Mars or beyond! I dont think that space travel will be open to everyone but maybe some people! I cant wait to see what the next 100 years of flight has in store!


By Obang

I think in one hundred years of flight there will be planes that could go faster. The planes will be cooler but they will cost more money. They may come up with a few inventions called the control plane. They are going to put technology remote controls that will control the airplanes. The control plane might transform into a submarine than it could go under water. It could do really cool stunts under the water and in the sky.The plane wont run out of gas because it uses solar power. If you build one airplane you wont need to go through all that trouble to make another one. If you press a button it will clone itself. The plane will have a school. The plane will have a bathroom, hotel, kitchen, and will absorb all the trash.


By Efrain

In the next 100 years flying will change. Cars that fly, hot air ballons that fly fast, and houses that fly will be like birds.When you like to get to work fast you will need a car that flies. Thats why a car that flies is a good flight.Do you want to go fast on a hot air ballon? In the future hot air ballons will have a jet pack. If you are homesick you will be able to fly fast to your house, because it will be next to you.I hope that in the future these things will be made to help people live.I hope you like these things of the future.


Winning Essays — Tanglewood Middle School, Greenville, S.C.


By Bryan, 8th Grade

In the future, they will use my design for a magnetic repeller drive airplane. It would get off the ground by reversing its polarity. You would use the magnetism of the earth to go forward or backward. It doesnt matter what shape the plane is. I would get people to fly on it by telling people how environmentally safe it is. It doesnt burn fuel to make smoke putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I would test how many people it would be able to carry by putting one employee in at a time to see how much it starts to come down towards the ground, once its about 2 feet above the ground, Ill stop putting people in. My plane would also be a safer plane. Tickets wouldnt cost as much as normal airline tickets. I would evaluate my plane as excellent, because it would be faster, safer, and cheaper to fly.


By Heather, 8th Grade

And the Story Begins2104, one hundred years from now, how will flight be? Come step into my time machine and we will see…. And 100 years later, when we open the door, this is how flight will be.On the OutsideCurrently the planes are heavy, without the people, and a good size. What if the plane is deeper in width, longer in length, and has changed from sheet metal to titanium. The titanium is lighter than sheet metal, so when you add the size changes the weight should come out about the same. The size change will enable more things for entertainment or scientific development, and more room for the passengers.On the InsideOf course due to the size changes, there will be more people able to ride in the planes. Also, due to size changes, there will be more accessories. There will be a computer room, music room, game room, karaoke section in the music room, a place to sleep on longer trips, and a place not only to keep your pets, but also a place to play with your pets. In the computer room instead of regular computers or laptops it would be lighter for palm pilots with Internet access. In the music room, when you register your flight the music preference of each passenger will registered like a poll, so that the top 3 music types of the flight will play in different sections of the plane, while the rest of people will be issued CD players (which will be taken up upon exit). In the game room there will be PS2, PS1, gameboy, gameboy color, gameboy advance, pool, and any board or card game you can imagine. In the karaoke section of the music room you will be issued a mike to use, like the CD players. The nap room will have cots setup to sleep in. For children, there will be a place to play with your pets, and also a place to adopt a pet. All of these accessories will have to be registered at the time tickets are purchased.On the Road AgainFor traveling cars will be like planes. Planes and the cars will be able to travel faster, be more convenient, easier, and they will be safer. They will travel faster, hopefully at the speed of light or quicker, so you can get where you are going even if you are running late. They will be more convenient to use because of the environment. It will be easier because they will be normal by then. They will travel like a big (or small for cars) bus. The planes will be a comfortable bus. They will also be able to transport to the space station, even to the Mars and the moon, like a bus visit or tour. They will be safer due to modern technology.Its a Plane! Its a Bird! No! Its a Car! As I mentioned in On the Road Again, planes will be like cares. People will be used to them, because its going to happen in 100 years. They will be the same as cars, but they wont have wheels. Oh, and of course, they will fly!The Problem of Today, Solved! Right now, our scientists are worried about the environment – especially pollution, the ozone layer, and the Earth in general. So what are we going to do? Well, to start all of the planes / bus planes (the ones that to outer space) will have special laws to recycle everything possible. That should help the earth in general. The plane cars will not be allowed to travel through space, a plane bus must be used because there will be special filters for pollution on buses and planes to lower pollution output. Also, if you are traveling long distances, the same rule is enforced. This will have major impact on pollution, and may be its solution. With all of this in full effect, it should keep Mother Nature cleaner, and maybe help the ozone layer and the rest of the atmosphere.In Conclusion, on the Way Back to 2004By taking in all of this, it could not only be what will possibly happen in 100 years, it could also help solve our pollution issues. Beep, Beep, Beep, we are now back in 2004. Now you know about 2104.


By Joshua, 8th Grade

I would predict men would till explore space and other planets. I also predict that man will build a space station on the moon, which will be a stopping point for them as they continue to explore our solar system. Within the next 100 years, I predict that not only astronauts will travel to the moon, but also passengers will be able to also go into space. In the next 100 years, I predict that the planes would look like jets. It will fly not too fast, and not too slow. It would be more like a supersonic jet. The way I would get people to use it is that many people is that I would build more seats, so that many people can take a ride without having to take turns. The way I would test it is that I would hire test pilots to test, and if they work I would keep on making them. If they dont, I will stop making them. It would cost trillions of dollars, and the environment would be controlled with good people, and it would be clean. I would hope to get many compliments on the super jets.

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