FSANA Youth envoy

Afton Kinkade has her head in the clouds

When she was a student pilot at the age of 13, Afton Kinkade was recruited as FSANA’s first Youth Envoy, a title she still holds today. Her role in representing FSANA is to inspire today’s youth to get involved in the aviation field.
 
You could say the Tampa Bay resident was bitten early on by the aviation bug — she has been fascinated by airplanes from the age of two. By the time Afton was six, her parents realized that this was not just a phase and enrolled her for flight simulator training. By age eight, she started co-piloting anything they would let her fly. Currently, Afton attends a NASA-sponsored middle school with a major in Aerospace and Aviation. Her story caught the attention of the press and she continues to be featured regularly in numerous aviation magazines. She is an active member of Women in Aviation Tampa Bay Chapter.
 

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From big-screen debut to gliders
 
Afton made her big-screen debut as a feature pilot in a 2019 movie documentary, “Fly Like A Girl.” The movie, which explores the history of courageous women in aviation, is intended to inspire women of all ages who no longer want simply to be passengers.
 
Afton is currently creating a social platform to network with fellow youth aviators. In the future she aspires to help with the development of a simulator truly made for today’s youth. Eventually, she hopes to follow in the footsteps of her all-time hero Patty Wagstaff as a national aerobatic champion. Afton plans to solo a glider on her 14th birthday next April. Her first-ever glider flight was this summer at Seminole Lake Gliderport in Clermont, Florida.
 
When Afton’s head is not in the clouds, she enjoys raising show-quality chickens and exhibiting them at various poultry competitions throughout the state of Florida. Along with hobby farming, she is an accomplished golfer and can be found on the links as a member of “The First Tee” of Tampa Bay’s junior golf team.