NYPD officers teach inner-city kids to fly through youth aviation program
FARMINGDALE, Long Island (WABC) -- Two NYPD officers from Brooklyn are inspiring a new generation of pilots after launching a program to teach other young New Yorkers how to fly.
Decked in blue, two of New York City's finest, NYPD officers Milton Davis, now retired, and Clet Titus, have another reason to sport their blue.
The two, who were former partners in Brooklyn, teach inner-city youth how to fly, for free!
"If you tried to get your private license today at a traditional school, it would cost you anywhere from $18,000 to 20,000 for your first right rating," Titus said. "Think about that. That right there is just a huge barrier."
That's what stopped him as a kid from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Now, he's determined to change course.
The program is called United Youth Aviators. It was launched to help teach kids, in the cockpit, how to take off, and speak with air traffic control.
Vidya Motilall, from Ozone Park, Queens, is just 12 years old.
"I use a booster seat because I'm a little short, but it's okay," Motilall said.
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Milton Davis, Co-founder of United Youth Aviators and Young Airman Association, said they put the program together in 2019, starting off with a summer camp.
Ronald West, a 14-year-old from Harlem and the Bronx, was among the first to participate.
He was one of five teens, out of 50, to take free ground courses to earn their private pilot's license.
West says he feels free when he's up in the air.
"It's just like nothing on my mind but the plane and the sky," West said. "It was a totally new experience for me, like opened up a whole new world for me. I had always wanted to fly but seeing it and actually doing it, it was crazy."
Motilall, a middle schooler originally from Guyana, has been flying for two years.
"I was scared of heights at first but when I got into the plane, I was okay," she said. "Mr. Titus is always there to help me."
From fighting crime to flying planes, Davis and Titus are awaiting funding to help even more kids.
"We got over a hundred kids on our waiting list so it will be great to get more kids off that list, with more funding," Titus said.
Mayor Eric Adams was the first to fund this program with $20,000 back when he was Brooklyn Borough President.
The New York City Council recently allocated $250,000, bringing the total now to $500,000 since the organization's inception.
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