When 15-year-old Tyler Ortiz heard about the NYPD Youth Aviation program, he jumped at the chance to earn his wings.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been interested in being able to travel around the world,” Ortiz said. “I was really excited getting to be in a program that allows me to be invested in aviation and what I’m passionate about.”

Officer Jamel Hilaire said he sees some of himself in Ortiz.

“It fills my heart because growing up, I was just like, I just can’t wait until I’m older to become a pilot,” Hilaire said.

Hilaire does now work as a pilot for the NYPD’s Aviation Unit and is the instructor of a class where students learn the in-and-outs of flying an airplane and navigating the skies through a simulator.

“They love it. They go to see the simulators. They go from being nervous to ‘I can’t wait to do this again,’” Hilaire said.

“It gives them options,” Deputy Commissioner of Community Affairs Mark Stewart said, “that probably without this class, that they would never have.”

Stewart says the program is held in low-income neighborhoods to give kids options other than after-school sports.

“We hope that we have a relationship with the kids. That’s the most important part, with the community too, and we hope they also follow up with the aviation program,” Stewart said.

With jobs available at the NYPD’s aviation unit, they’re hoping to catch kids like Ortiz, but they may have to wait.

“I want to go around to Europe to Asia, Africa. I want to see new places,” Ortiz said.

The free seven-week course is for teens ages 13 to 18.

If a child is selected to be part of the competitive program, they can be transported to the training site.