BY ZERMI JENKINS | Contributor
Currently, it is a great time to encourage young people to consider the merits of becoming a pilot and learning aviation skills. Parents, listen up!
This Saturday, November 22, Infinity Aero Club of Tampa (iACT) brings its Mobile Aviation & STEM Flight Simulator Experience to Enoch Davis Center during the 2025 Tampa Bay Urban Futures Festival.
Founded by retired Naval Aviation Intelligence Officer, LCDR Ricardo Foster, USN (Ret.), Infinity Aero Club has a mission to “inspire, train, and launch the next generation of aviators, innovators, and entrepreneurs by breaking financial and systemic barriers that limit access to aviation, STEM, and business opportunities—for youth, veterans, and individuals in underserved communities.”
Tampa Nonprofit Teaches Kids How To Fly
The organization has impacted more than 200,000 youth and families since 2020, through aviation, STEM, and entrepreneurship education, and is focused on empowering underserved communities by opening doors to high-demand careers in aviation and technology.
Initially, Foster and several friends, who were pilots, started the Tampa North Aero Club in 2018, headquartered at Tampa North Aeropark (X39). Since then, they’ve grown into the nonprofit educational organization, bringing the community together in a “culture of safe, fun, and affordable flying.”
iACT’s programs include flight training, FAA-certified BATD simulator sessions, drone (UAS/UAV) training, aviation maintenance, youth aircraft factory (kit-aircraft building), and STEM Career Pathways.
The Community Tech Day starts at 11:30 am and runs to 4:30, featuring 3D printing, VR goggles, minidrone programming with FEFCodemasters, minibot programming with Eckerd College, and more.
The day also features an AI and Youth Education panel with Lyra Logan of FEF CodeMasters, Robyn Donaldson of STEM Xposure, Scott Callison of Code Wiz, Brian Peret of Codeboxx. It is moderated by Jabaar Edmond of CDAT and PDAP’s Community Tech Experiences Project (CTEP).
The event is free but parents should register. Register to Attend Events! – Tampa Bay Urban Futures Festival
Other events during the day will be the first Urban Futures Comicon, focused on literacy events including a zine-making workshop with Kitchen Table Literary Arts, an interview with Competitive Readers Coalition’s Antonio Brown with author William Ricker, and an author’s panel with Tampa Bay Black Authors Expo.
Register to attend: https://tbuffest.com/register-to-attend-events.
To learn more, visit https://infinityaeroclub.org.
Follow iACT on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ricardo.foster.821204
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinityaeroclub/
