Skybound Confidence: Fly Compton Foundation Launches 2025 Summer Solo Camp
From June 16 to June 27, 2025, the runway came alive with purpose and power as seven new student pilots, six of them young women, took to the skies in our Summer Solo Camp, a two-week intensive designed to prepare students for one of the biggest milestones in aviation: their first solo flight.
Led by our outstanding instructor team, Mayceo Flores (Fly Compton Foundation Alumni), Youssef Youssef, and Qaisera Alexis, this year’s cohort pushed through the nerves, nailed the checklists, and leveled up with every lap around the pattern. Each solo flight marks the moment a student becomes a pilot in command, taking off, navigating the traffic pattern, and landing safely, alone in the cockpit.
What Solo Camp Looks Like
Over 10 days, students immersed themselves in every aspect of flight readiness. Each day began with ground instruction and a deep focus on weather briefings, aerodynamics, and flight planning. From there, they transitioned into simulator work using our newly installed Microsoft Flight Simulator, which mirrors real-world flight environments and aircraft performance down to the finest detail.
With those fundamentals locked in, it was time to fly.
Students are trained in takeoffs, landings, radio communications, and flight maneuvers, with special attention paid to the traffic pattern and safe approaches. Every session built confidence. Every lap reinforced control.
When that moment comes, the entire team rallies around them. It’s a breakthrough, a moment that every pilot remembers for the rest of their life.
A Tradition That Takes Flight
At Fly Compton, we honor one of aviation’s oldest rites of passage: the cutting of the shirt tail. This tradition dates back to the early days of tandem-seat aircraft, where instructors would tug on a student’s shirt tail to signal corrections mid-flight. Once a student flew solo, the shirt tail was cut, symbolizing that the instructor’s help was no longer needed. The student was now fully responsible, commanding their flight.
We carry that tradition forward not just for nostalgia, but because our students are earning it.
This Is More Than a Camp
The Summer Solo Camp represents everything Fly Compton Foundation stands for: discipline, access, mentorship, and representation in aviation. Watching six young women and one young man take command of the cockpit speaks volumes about the power of this space, the talent in our communities, and the bright future ahead for each of these students.
We are proud to celebrate their first solos and proud to support them on the journey toward full private pilot certification and beyond.
To learn more about our aviation programs or to support our mission, visit flycomptonfoundation.org.
