Graham Shema is no ordinary kid. The Ugandan youngster has already flown real aircraft as a co-pilot. What started as a simple childhood admiration for toy planes led the young captain to flying school — and even attracting the attention of Tesla boss Elon Musk.
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00:00 Hello, my name is Graham Shablam. I'm 10 years old. I'm the youngest parent in the world
00:07 and the founder of Avision at Riz Magazine for Kids.
00:12 I like being in the air. It just feels like I'm a mighty man.
00:19 Just stop the other virtual news.
00:24 I just went to YouTube and searched how airplanes work. Everything was in one video. Then I
00:34 searched them separately. And yeah. The hardest I would say is the cockpit. You know the cockpit
00:44 is one place. So it was very hard to learn because I would say, you need to know this
00:52 and this. That, how it lands, how it takes off. All of that. The easy parts were the
00:58 outside of the plane. The rats, APU, the wings, the rudders, the elevators.
01:07 The first time it was quite scary because at that time I was still 6 and they couldn't
01:13 let me touch the controls because they know I was a little, not a little playful but a
01:20 little playful. So now I'm 3 years.
01:23 I've flown with many kids who are excited about flying but none who is as intentional
01:48 as he has been or he is. He wants it. He knows what he's into. He knows what he's coming
01:54 for. The rest are coming for a joyride. He knows what he's doing. He knows the controls.
02:00 He knows flying. He knows the areas. He knows when he's making a turn.
02:16 I would say, dream big and you can make it. So, don't turn yourself down. If you turn
02:23 yourself down, it's actually affecting you. Not anyone else but you.
02:30 Dear parents, believe in your children. Never put them down. Never say you can't do this.
02:37 Never say that you're a girl, that you can't do this. You can make it. You can be a pilot.
02:42 But you need to support your children, not put them down.
02:47 I would like to be the first Ugandan to go in space and touch the moon.
02:56 (laughing)