White Plains Youth Bureau Unveils New Aviation Academy Flight Simulator
There is a need for many varied jobs related to the airline industry and members of the White Plains Youth Bureau are getting to experience what it’s like to be a pilot through a new flight simulator.
The portable simulator was unveiled on Jan. 23 at City Hall at an event attended by Youth Bureau participants, city officials and others.
Youth Bureau Executive Director Frank Williams Jr. said last week preparing city youths for the world of work was a mission of the Bureau. “We know that a prepared and a trained young person” will have a bright future, he said “We’re excited about the direction we’re going with respect to aviation.”
“In White Plains, we feel investing in the Youth Bureau is as important as any other department in the city and the results speak for themselves,” Mayor Tom Roach said. “My own personal belief is that you put as much as you can in front of every child and hope that they find the thing that they really love or multiple things because once they do they do better in everything.”
White Plains Superintendent of Schools Dr. Joseph Ricca said, “Today is just another example of opportunity that we want to put in front of our children to expose them to a myriad of things that are available to them in life.”
“The purpose of school is far more than just report cards and grades,” Ricca said. “The purpose of school is to expose our children to opportunities. And one of the opportunities we want to expose our children to is highly skilled vocations,”
“Whether it’s flying airplanes or working on a tarmac or working on the back end. Whether it’s working in a lab supporting scientists or being a scientist, whatever the case may be, we want our children to know that there are tons of opportunities available to them,” Ricca said. “I’m really excited about this opportunity for our children.”
Williams said the flight simulator was obtained by the not-for-profit Friends of the White Plains Youth Bureau. Friends President Renee Willis Smith said, “Our sole purpose is to do fundraising for the Youth Bureau and programs such as this. We are thrilled to be able to fund something like the flight simulator.”
Smith thanked those who are assisting the Youth Bureau Aviation Academy, including local representatives of airlines.
The Youth Bureau is celebrating its 50th anniversary on Oct. 15 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in the city, Smith noted.
Williams said the Youth Bureau has been working with Westchester Community College to encourage city youths to attend the college for two years and then move on to a four-year college. Westchester Community College President Dr. Belinda Miles told the students present at last week’s event that she had been a good student and her family supported her. “You’re so fortunate to be able to have this community of support,” she told the students. “We want to invest in the talent of our young people,”
Dr. Ernie Shepelsky, vice president of Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, said, “It’s not easy to become a pilot. But nothing that’s really worth it is ever easy.”
Shepelsky said there is s pilot shortage and it is expected to become worse 10 years from now.
“If you study to become a pilot, put in the work, sometimes you do have to take out student loans. If you put in the work you’re going to make it,” he said. There are other jobs available in aviation, including technicians and air traffic controllers, he said.
Captain James Parker, coordinator of the Aviation Academy, who donated the Youth Bureau’s first flight simulator, quipped that none of the youths he has worked with have crashed a simulator. “I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of new young faces,” he said. The new simulator is portable he said.
The aviation industry is “paying the price” for previously offering poor salaries and prospects for pilots, Parker said. However, currently, “If you’re somebody that has the skills that they’re looking for they’re going to snap you up in a second,” he said, adding there are a wide variety of jobs in aviation that are currently available.
The event concluded with the presentation of certificates from the city to members of the first group of Aviation Academy participants.
