Kimberly Anyadike, 15

Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — A 15-year-old pilot flying across America as a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen is scheduled to make a stop Tuesday in Arkansas.

Kimberly Anyadike is believed to be the youngest black female to pilot an airplane transcontinentally.

Anyadike took off Monday from Compton, Calif., in a single-engine Cessna 172 and is scheduled to arrive Saturday in Newport News, Va., said Robin Petgrave, executive director of Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, which is sponsoring the flight.

In all, the cross-country round-trip is expected to take 10 days with several stops, including a scheduled stop Tuesday evening at Little Rock’s Central Flying Service, where members of the Tuskegee Airmen are to sign the aircraft, Petgrave said.

Members of the all-black 332nd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Corps flew with distinction during World War II.

Anyadike is being on accompanied on her flight by Tuskeegee Airman Levi Thornhill, after whom the aircraft is named, and safety pilot Ronell Norman.

Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, based at the Compton Airport, provides scholarships and after-school programs for young aspiring pilots and at-risk youth. Anyadike has been flying since age 12 as part of the program, Petgrave said.