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Local pilot campaigns to reach for the sky

Posted at 6:47 PM, Sep 08, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-08 22:15:03-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- During this COVID-19 pandemic, many unsung heroes have stepped up to offer assistance in this critical time of need.

And that includes a local pilot, who helping those workers, that help him to get off the ground. Anthony Oshinuga became interested in becoming a pilot when he was 5-years old, and now he's a veteran of the air.

Anthony's need for speed and adrenaline led him to racing and performing aerobatics. But he calls his latest piloting adventure, his most rewarding. Flying his own biplane, he traveled across in the country for a campaign he calls, "Reach for the sky...we've got the ground".

"Essentially, what that means, is for the support crew that is on the ground at each airport we visited. We delivered a COVID-19 relief package that had face masks, hand sanitizer, and then we gave them a mug to say thank you. We appreciate what you are doing."

It was quite a trip for the Valley Center resident, as his flight included 44 stops in 22 locations.

"My sponsor, Epic Fuel,s, put together this campaign that covered six thousand nautical miles, in my biplane, traveling about 160 miles per hour, " says Anthony.

His trip was about giving thanks to airport employees.

"We have people at the airport, like the guys who fuel the trucks, and those workers who greet people coming off private jets. There are interactions and contact with these people all the time, and we don't think about that."

And along his journey, he was able to visit with young kids, and maybe inspire them to become pilots one day.

"There were a few stops along the way where people got word of me stopping in. A bunch of kids came out that were S.T.E.M motivated. They were students going through the engineering program, and I got the opportunity to meet them and speak to them, and just to inspire them."

It was definitely a trip of a lifetime.

"Flown six thousand miles with that message, and making it out pretty good right."