Nicholas D’Amato, right, with friend and pilot Tim Dahlen and prom date Danielle Mignogna. For D’Amato, taking a helicopter to prom was a natural extension of his love for flying. Photo courtesy of Nicholas D’Amato
When high school senior Nicholas D’Amato took a Robinson R44 helicopter to his prom in Manorville, N.Y., last week, he wasn’t looking to inspire jealousy (although some of his classmates might have been jealous anyway).
Instead, the 17-year-old — a certificated private pilot — hoped to inspire other young people with the same passion for aviation he’s had since the age of five. And he has certainly sparked some interest, judging by the widespread positive news coverage he has received from the New York Post, CBS New York, and other outlets.
D’Amato’s own introduction to aviation came under less-than-ideal circumstances. “When I was five years old, I got attacked by a Rottweiler,” D’Amato explained in an interview with Vertical.
A Suffolk County Police Department helicopter responded to the emergency, and flew D’Amato to Stony Brook University Hospital. Although “the only part I remember is the landing,” he said, that was enough: “I knew from that day I wanted to fly helicopters.”
At 17, D’Amato already has a good start on his life’s goal. While a student at Eastport-South Manor High School, he was able to earn his fixed-wing private pilot certificate through the Eastern Suffolk BOCES program, and this past weekend he commenced his formal rotary-wing training with Eastern Helicopters at Long Island MacArthur Airport. D’Amato plans to complete a full professional pilot training program, work as a flight instructor, and move on to flying tours, with the possibility of someday joining a police helicopter unit himself.
In the meantime, he has been networking. And among his growing number of friends in the helicopter industry is Tim Dahlen, the owner of the black R44 that D’Amato took to prom.
D’Amato and his family ensured all necessary precautions were taken for a safe arrival at Eastport-South Manor High School. Photo courtesy of Nicholas D’Amato
D’Amato said he first had the idea for his grand prom entrance in October last year. “I asked Tim if we could use his helicopter, and he said that would be great,” D’Amato recalled. “We both want to influence younger kids to get into aviation.”
D’Amato asked his school for permission in October; his request was approved in February. A few days before the big event, however, school administrators began to get nervous.
That’s when D’Amato’s father, Sal, stepped in. As the chief of the Manorville Fire Deparment, Sal D’Amato arranged for a fire engine and ambulance to be on standby at the landing site, which allayed the school’s fears.
That left only one person who was still a little nervous about the whole thing: D’Amato’s date, Danielle Mignogna, a senior at William Floyd High School. Mignogna wasn’t necessarily thrilled to be taking a helicopter to prom, but according to D’Amato, “she said she was going with me no matter what.”
The flight to Eastport-South Manor High School departed from Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach; to ease Mignogna’s anxiety, D’Amato sat in back with her, rather than share the controls with Dahlen.
After some sightseeing along the beach, Mignogna began to relax. By the end of the flight, she was sold. “She said to me as soon as we got out, ‘I want to do that again,’” D’Amato said.
