Coaster Photo
Shaborn Goodman (center) is pictured with Asbury Park Little League officials Will Wright (left) and Danny McKee.
ShaBorn Goodman, 16, attends Asbury Park High School during the week but on weekends he can be found in the cockpit of a small plane learning to fly.
ShaBorn, who turns 17 on May 13, completed his first solo flight Sun., May 1, in a single-engine Cessna 152, a plane used for pilot training. That flight makes him eliigble for his entry level pilot’s license.
He has been studying for the test since last November and has already logged 49 hours of flying time.
ShaBorn’s desire to fly began in 2019 when he attended the Atlantic City Air Show with Danny McKee, at that time president of the Asbury Park Little League, and told McKee “I want to fly.”
McKee helped him enroll in a flight school, first at Princeton Airport and then at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township.
The Ground School involves intensive studying on line and in-flight training with a licensed flight instructor. He’s had to learn the details of pre-flight set-up and understand weather conditions. He must also understand all the cockpit instruments. His solo flight involved three loops around Monmouth Executive Airport, the first two with his instructor who then left the plane and ShaBorn completed the third take-off and landing on his own.
In an earlier night flight with his instructor, ShaBorn flew from Monmouth Executive Airport to the Verrazano Bridge, up the Hudson River past the GW Bridge to Westchester Airport and returned. He called the nearly two-hour flight “amazing.”
ShaBorn Goodman is the son of Tyevafa Tillman and Louis Goodman who are 100 perent behind their son’s pursuit. Learning to fly has also broadened his opportunities after Asbury Park High School. He’s considering joining the Air Force or enrolling in a college with an Aviation Program. He’s also founded the Blackbird Flying Club for young men and women 16 to 18 years old interested in flight. The goal is to qualify members for the Private Pilot’s Certificate by the time they graduate from high school.
The flight path is also costly, about $18,000 according to Danny McKee who is helping ShaBorn raise money for his endeavor. To help, contact McKee at 732-768-6860. To celebrate the event. the non-profit youth support group WeBuildNJ.org led by Amanda Fitzpatrick held an after flight party for ShaBorn on Sunday.
