Deer Park Teen Earns Private Pilot License

DEER PARK-NORTH BABYLON, NY - From Civil Air Patrol: Cadet Michael Catanzaro, a member of Civil Air Patrol’s Wantagh-based Quentin Roosevelt Cadet Squadron, took to the skies this past July and earned his private pilot’s license in a Cessna 172 – a single-engine, fixed-wing airplane, operating from Republic Airport in Farmingdale. Cadet Catanzaro first soloed at C.A.P.’s New York Wing Flight Academy in 2017 and was the first cadet to solo that year. He proudly adds this achievement to his other accolades that include being a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) operator and having multiple hours logged in rotary-wing aircraft.

Outside of C.A.P., Cadet Catanzaro is a senior in Deer Park High School. Additionally, Cadet Catanzaro works at Hover-Views Unlimited, assisting in aerial cinematography and photography.

Cadet Catanzaro plans to attend SUNY Farmingdale for 4 years, as well as join ROTC at Manhattan College after graduation this year. Once he has completed his 4 years, he would like to join the U.S. Air Force to become a fighter pilot.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of Regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. C.A.P., in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 70 lives annually.

Civil Air Patrol’s 58,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug
interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its Airmen additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the C.A.P. cadet program. Civil Air Patrol received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. Congressionally chartered 74 years ago, the nonprofit organization also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit capvolunteernow.com for more information.

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