06/11/04

LC040611

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

Dennis James>> "You're grinning like it's going to be something
fun and crazy, wild and exciting."

Solomon>> "It is."

Dennis James>> "Well, you're right! Hard left, all the way
over, all the way over, more, more, more, yes, yes, you're doing
it! More, more, more, more! All right!"

Dennis James>> Many of the kids that we fly come from
backgrounds where they've been told, oh, you can't do anything,
you're stupid, you're not going to amount to anything. We show
them differently.

Val>> And then, in the air and on the sea. We'll find out how
some troubled kids are rising above their problems.

It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times.

Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

Val>> It's hard to make an impact on young people, especially
troubled teens who feel they've seen everything. But you're
about to meet two men who give these youngsters experiences
they'll never forget. One is a ship's captain and the other is
a pilot. First we meet the pilot, Dennis James. He's a
commercial aviator, but his passion is aerobatic flying and his
biggest thrill comes when he hands the controls over to a
troubled teenager. It's part of a program called "Young Aces".

Dennis James>> Every time I fly, it's a thrill. Every single
time. And I've been flying planes for over thirteen years.
It's special. Every take-off is special. Every loop is
special, every roll is special and I never get tired of it. The
energy level is up. I get pumped up. I get a little wild and
crazy in the plane and it's, I mean, it's not effective. It
just comes over me sometimes. I dig it. It's a great time,
it's a great time.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> For one pilot, heading for the sky and
watching the world spin is a thrill he just can't keep to
himself. Dennis James takes his love of flying beyond the
clouds and into the hearts of young people, teenagers whose
lives just might be changed by an unforgettable experience.

Dennis James>> "You guys are looking sharp. Are you ready for
this? I'm putting up some briefing items. Here's what we're
going to talk about today. We're going to talk about our basic
program, we're going to talk about aerodynamics, how an airplane
flies."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Dennis James and his partner, Kevin
Miller, are commercial airline pilots. When they aren't flying
passenger jets, they're here at Fullerton Airport getting
teenagers ready for the ride of their lives. The program is
called "Young Aces" and it allows troubled teens to take control
of an aerobatic airplane.

Dennis James>> "First of all, guys, welcome to Young Aces.
Glad to have you here."

Student>> "We're glad to be here."

Dennis James>> "Well, I think you'll be saying that same thing
in a couple of minutes when you're up there upside down in the
top of a loop."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> This morning, Dennis is working with two
new young aces, Solomon and Ryan.

Dennis James>> "This is amazing science to me, okay? The shape
of the wing is basically like so. Kind of flat on the bottom,
kind of curved on the top."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Solomon and Ryan were each arrested for
minor offenses. Ryan was charged with vandalism and Solomon was
arrested for getting into a fistfight.

Dennis James>> Many of the kids that we fly come from
backgrounds where they've been told, oh, you can't do anything,
you're stupid, you're not going to amount to anything. We show
them differently.

Dennis James>> "Fractions. You guys work with fractions? All
right. Test time right now."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Ryan is a high school sophomore and
Solomon is a freshman at Huntington Beach High School. He's one
of eight children with no father at home.

Dennis James>> "What do you have to do to the other side of the
equation to keep it equivalent? Solomon?"

Solomon>> "Give it the same name?"

Dennis James>> "Good, yes. You're killer, man."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Today will not just be Solomon's first
time flying a plane. It will be his first time ever in a plane.
Today will also be the Young Aces' first experience with G-
forces. The higher the speed, the more they will be pressed
into the seats of the plane.

Dennis James>> "You're going to make the ugly face because
you're going to feel as if you weigh over 400 pounds. Oh, it's
going to be ugly, sweat pouring out all over the place, but it's
going to be so cool. Then when we get sixty degrees nose up, we
start to roll the airplane...."

Dennis James>> I grew up in Sacramento near the old Sacramento
Executive Airport. Small planes used to fly overhead all the
time and I always thought, wow, that'd be great. I'd love to do
that someday. But I had no idea how you'd get into it. Then a
friend of the family arranged for me to go up in a small plane
and the pilot let me take the flight controls for a little bit
and I was a changed man. I was obsessed. I knew I had to learn
how to fly somehow. After I graduated from college, I went into
the Marine Corps and learned how to fly there.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Today, Dennis flies for American
Airlines. He is one of only about one percent of all commercial
pilots who are African-American.

Dennis James>> "Now, why do we have the parachute? Well, the
FAA requires them. Remember the flying police? They require us
to have a parachute when...."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Dennis is single with no kids of his
own, but Young Aces allows him to be a teacher and a dad for a
few hours.

Dennis James>> I feel it's a sense of mission. I feel that,
you know, the taxpayers spent well over a million dollars in my
military training and the least that I can do and the least that
Kevin can do is give back by helping our community sort of build
itself up.

Dennis James>> "Well, one thing I guarantee you, I won't leave
the airplane without you. There will never be a time when you
look to the right and there's a big gaping hole where I used to
be. So don't worry. If we need to bail out of the plane, I'll
toss you out and then I'll take care of business, okay?"

Dennis James>> "There, we physically just push this thing right
on out."

Dennis James>> The aircraft we use at the Young Aces is an
Italian-built military trainer called the Marchetti.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> The Marchetti cost $170,000. Dennis
bought the plane himself, hoping to receive corporate support
for Young Aces, but so far, he's been unsuccessful, so he's
making the $1,800 monthly payments himself.

Dennis James>> It's not comfortable, but it's doable and that's
how we're operating right now.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> The plane is equipped with three cameras
and, after they land, the Young Aces will receive videos of
their flights.

Dennis James>> "The evidence. There's no fooling anybody, you
know. All the stuff is right here."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Ryan will go first and Solomon will
watch from the ground. He's nervous.

>> Did you ever see yourself flying a plane before?

Solomon>> I mean, like sometimes in a dream, you know, I'd be a
top gun or an Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I didn't think I'd be
flying a plane right now. Too young for it.

Dennis James>> "All right, you're looking good, you're flying a
plane! You're flying a plane, man! Are you ready for inline
roll number one?"

Ryan>> "Yes, I am."

Dennis James>> "All right, well, let's get on with the
insanity. Here we go. Slowly pull the airplane back, back,
back, back, more, more, more, now hard left! Roll it left, roll
it left! Yeah, hard left, hard left, harder! Hit your left
knee! Hit your left knee! Left knee, left knee! Okay, start
the roll. Yes! Pull back on the stick! Yes! You did it.
Ryan, how you feeling? Little shaky? No sweat here, we'll take
it easy, we'll take it easy."

Dennis James>> Some of them are scared. Some of them actually
scream as they take the stick. Some of them just start
grinning. That's usually what happens. The grins go from ear
to ear and they're stuck there for the rest of the flight.

[Film Clip]

Dennis James>> "Are you ready? You're grinning like it's going
to be something fun and crazy, wild and exciting."

Solomon>> "It is."

Dennis James>> "Well, you're right! All right, clear. Prop."

Dennis James>> "I'm flying with Solomon. He's a steely-eyed
fighter pilot looking for his first combat mission. Green
Panther, Green Panther, this is Jessie. Green panther, Green
Panther, this is Jessie. Go ahead."

Solomon>> "This is Green Panther. The weather looks good. I'm
ready for take off."

[Film Clip]

Dennis James>> "Are you ready?"

Solomon>> "Do you want me to take control of the stick?"

Dennis James>> "You mean like you're doing right now? You're
flying. Oh, my God, you're flying! Oh, I'm scared, I'm so
scared!"

Solomon>> "This is great!"

Dennis James>> "You're doing fine, man."

Solomon>> "Ah, I'm a natural."

Dennis James>> "Look at that. Yeah, you are. All right."

Solomon>> "What are we doing first?"

Dennis James>> "We're going to do the inline roll where I get
the nose up and roll the airplane completely around, all right?
Put your hand on the stick. Okay, pull back on the stick.
Back, back, back! More, more, more, more! Now hard left like
you did before. Hard left, hard left! Hit your knee, hit your
knee! All the way over, all the way over! More, more, more!
Yes, you're doing it! All right, stop the roll. All right, you
did it, Solomon, you did it! Give me a high five. Yeah! You
better keep flying, man. Are you sure you've never flown a
plane before?"

Solomon>> "I want to do it again."

Dennis James>> "You've got the airplane. Okay, stick back,
back, back, back! More, more, more! Now roll it left, hard
left! Yeah! That's it! Now more, more! Yes, Solomon. Oh,
I'm so proud of you! I'm so proud of you!"

Dennis James>> As soon as the kid grabs the stick and realizes
that he or she is flying a plane, the self esteem shoots up.
You know, you don't have to convince the kid at that point that
he's capable of doing extraordinary things. He's already
demonstrated it to himself or to herself that that can be done.

Dennis James>> "Have you ever thought of becoming a fighter
pilot?"

Solomon>> "Yeah, I want to be in the Navy and fly a jet."

Dennis James>> "To become a pilot, you have to do pretty well
in high school so you can get into college. Do well in college
and go on and get yourself a commission as an officer and you
learn how to fly."

Dennis James>> They know that they've made a transition. They
know that they've crossed the threshold at that point. That's
one of the things I like the most about this program. I'm
sitting right there and I get to see this. I get to see this
evolution and the confidence. It's great.

Dennis James>> "He's the man. He is the man. He was just
jumping into it. Everything and then some. I mean, he wanted
to do more."

Solomon>> I did it like five times. I went all the way around.
I fainted a couple of times except I don't think he noticed
(laughter).

>> What do you think is the biggest lesson you've learned
today?

Solomon>> To overcome your fears because, before I did this, I
was scared of heights. And so it was like -- the biggest ride
I've been on without going wild was the Ferris Wheel and then
even then I went wild because it was the circus and we went
upside down and we were like stop, stop, I'm going to throw up
and I got out and I threw up. So I didn't think seriously I
could do this. I was like, well, you know, it will be fun
trying and maybe you won't go out too bad. So I went for it and
it was great.

Dennis James>> "You've got some kind of talent. You have got
some kind of talent. Let's get you out of that gear.:

Solomon>> "Thanks."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> After their flight, Solomon and Ryan get
a chance to relive their experience on video.

[Video Clip]

Dennis James>> I don't contend that, by taking kids flying to
the edge of the envelope in this high-performance airplane, that
the graffiti's going to slide off the walls, that teen
pregnancies are going to go away, that there will be no more
drug activity in the schools, but we can just do it one kid at a
time and that's fine with me. We'll take it one at a time.

Dennis James>> "We have a tradition in naval aviation when, you
know, someone gets pinned -- come on over here, guy. You want
to stand real close by. You want to make sure that the full
impact of being pinned is driven home with everybody, so you
sort of put the pins in place and you slam them home (laughter).
So anyway, congratulations, Solomon, Ryan. Very good. You guys
are great, you guys are great."

Dennis James>> The program is too young to evaluate whether
anyone has turned into a pilot just yet, but my ultimate dream
is that some day I'll be strapping into an airplane at the
airline and I'll look to my right and my co-pilot will be one of
these kids here. That would be my ultimate fantasy.

Val>> We first met Dennis James nearly ten years ago. Since
then, the "Young Aces" program has expanded to four states and
nearly four hundred young people have been a part of it.

To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us
by mail at this address:

Life and Times
4401 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90027

You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or
contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.

Val>> Flying can give anyone a new view of the world, but so
can standing on the deck of a ship, and the Los Angeles Maritime
Institute invites youngsters to come on board a beautiful
seventy-foot schooner. What can you learn by sailing the high
seas? Plenty, especially in the hands of Captain Jim Gladson.

Jim Gladson>> "Can we have all hands to the sailing stations?
Stand by to back the head sails. Give me four spokes to the
left, please. A half a turn, four spokes to the left."

Jim Gladson>> It's very seductive. It's stimulating, it's
challenging, it's nurturing, it's soothing, all at once.

Anna Marie Persimone>> For centuries, the sea has been a
teacher, demanding, humbling, inspiring. Jim Gladson was a
teacher in Los Angeles high school science classrooms for
thirty-two years. Now he's retired. He could be sailing the
ocean exploring exotic islands and seaports, but Jim has chosen
to be here at the Los Angeles Harbor climbing aboard a seventy-
foot schooner with fifteen inner city kids.

Jim Gladson>> I have yet to have somebody ask, "Why do you want
to do that? Why bother with at-risk kids? Why bother with
education?" You know, you'd expect people to say, "Well, you're
retired, man. Why aren't you out playing golf or something like
that?" It's really fun to be doing something that everyone
thinks is important.

Jim Gladson>> "Are you ready to port? Okay, you kids
understand now, we're going to brace the yards to about halfway
to port. We're not going all the way."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Jim believes if you want young people to
have a positive outlook on life, you have to give them a
promising view, and this is a view few inner city kids have ever
seen.

Jim Gladson>> When you step aboard, there's kind of a thing we
call the clean slate effect. All of your cares and worries and
problems are all staying behind and it's like you leave them on
the dock.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> His program is called "Topsail" and his
boat is called the Swift of Ipswich, modeled after an eighteenth
century revolutionary war vessel. Over the last few years, Jim
has taken two thousand inner city kids aboard the Swift.

Jim Gladson>> If you're living in an environment that includes
deep poverty, maybe in a housing project or at least in a very
decrepit neighborhood, you are surrounded by people who have not
succeeded. How do we expect an adolescent to think that in some
magic way they're going to jump out of that and succeed?

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Today's excursion is only four hours
long, but what the young people learn today will prepare them
for a longer day trip to Catalina Island.

Jim Gladson>> "Our number one absolute all-the-time rule,
applies to me, the crew, to guests, to everybody that's aboard.
Whenever you're hanging around with us, you will act like
everybody else is your best friend. Okay, why don't we get some
sails up? Alice, you're first mate today. Are you prepared...."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Within an hour, the Swift of Ipswich, a
half million dollar historic sailing vessel, is in the hands of
eager amateurs.

Jim Gladson>> "Couple more kids up here. Quick, quick. Need
some brains. Doesn't take a lot of muscles, just brains."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Desiree Ramirez is one of fifteen young
people from a youth center who have stepped aboard the Swift.
She is the youngest of two children growing up without a father.
Desiree was raised in Pico Union, a poor area west of downtown
Los Angeles where teenagers often fall prey to gangs and gang
violence. This is her second time aboard the Swift.

[Desiree Ramirez/group dialogue]

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Teamwork is crucial aboard the Swift.

Jim Gladson>> We don't have to tell them, all right, you guys,
learn to be a team. It just happens. We give them real world
hands-on experience in problem solving and decision-making.
Many of the lines that they'll have to pull on, you can't do
with one person alone. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but
it's the first step for many kids, especially kids who have felt
that they're not a part of any working group other than maybe a
street gang.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> There's also a chance for the young
people to test themselves individually.

Jim Gladson>> "If you'd like to go aloft, that's fine. We
don't assign guests to go aloft and work the sails, but we enjoy
showing you how to do that. If you'd like to go up and help
with sail-setting or just take a look around or take a camera up
to get a picture, all of that's fine. Let one of the crew know
you'd like to do it. We'll get a harness for you. We'll show
you what to hold onto and what not to hold onto and so on."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Going aloft means climbing the ratlines
up the main mast and perching seventy-five feet above the ocean.
It's not for everyone.

Jim Gladson>> "It's very important. Whenever someone is
working aloft, no one, absolutely no one, will encourage them or
tease them. Not a bit."

Anna Marie Persimoni>> On her first trip, Desiree tried going
aloft. She got halfway up the mast and came back down. Now
she's making a second attempt.

Desiree Ramirez>> I went up the first time, but I didn't go all
the way up because I wasn't that brave.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> This time, she gets all the way to the
top.

Desiree Ramirez>> This time I went up. It's scary. It's
scary, but I think I'm going up again. Hey, I've got my harness
on. I'm going back up.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> From the top of the mast, high over the
open ocean, the world is a different place.

Desiree Ramirez>> Just to see all the way out there, you don't
see the ocean end or anything like that. It kind of gives you a
different view of how things could be, kind of think of what
you're going to do. You get to plan in a way, you know, and
just think back of what you've done and what you could do.

Desiree Ramirez>> "How long have you been sailing?"

Jim Gladson>> "Oh, a couple of hours (laughter)."

Jim Gladson>> It takes remarkably little intervention. It's
surprising how little it takes. Some of the kids went on to get
PhD's in fields and science and still think sailing is what
opened their eyes. Some of them have gone into business and
they come back and tell me it's learning to sail that made the
difference. Not just learning to sail, but learning all of the
stuff that goes with it.

Anna Marie Persimoni>> Desiree is the first person in her
family to go to college. Over the next few years, she hopes to
graduate from Cal Poly Pomona and become a computer programmer.

Desiree Ramirez>> "I liked it the first time I came here. It
was good. We were actually sailing faster because there was a
lot of wind. It was more exciting because the water would
actually come in. It was cold, but it was still good. It gives
you a lot of confidence because it's more of a serious thing.
You're doing a lot of stuff and not everyone does this."

Irene De Anda Lewis>> She's taken on leadership and I've seen
real leadership qualities developed in her over the last couple
of sails we've taken. It's just really great.

Jim Gladson>> Clearly, way over three-quarters of the kids have
come back and said that something they did in my presence had a
significant impact on them. Way over seventy-five percent are
kids that are talking about what we did on the boat. We're
competing with ignorance and ineptitude and fear. We can defeat
those enemies without producing losers and, consequently -- I
know this sounds pretty glorious and rosy -- but consequently
what happens is, we produce winners without having to produce
losers to go with them. The vessel is an incredibly demanding
and accepting thing. It enables relatively ordinary folks like
us to do truly extraordinary things.

Val>> In addition to the Swift of Ipswich, the "Topsail"
program has three other ships. And in just one school year,
they've taken more than 5,500 young people out to sea. And
that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and
Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.

Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.