Program shows pupils to careers in aviation

May 10, 2007, Daytona Beach, FL

Reprinted article from The Daytona Beach News Journal

By Aaron London, Staff Writer

Ordinarily, taking a group of fifth-graders and turning them loose in an airplane hangar would seem like a recipe for disaster. But this was no ordinary day and these weren't ordinary fifth-graders.

A group of 15 pupils from Michelle Bishop's class at Old Kings Elementary School spent the morning Monday at the Commercial Airline Pilot Training program headquarters at the Flagler County Airport. In addition to the program staff on hand, the pupils brought along a new friend, Capt. Don Wyatt, a veteran pilot for Southwest Airlines.

Wyatt is one of nearly 1,000 Southwest pilots participating in the company's Adopt-A-Pilot program and Bishop's class adopted him this year.

"It's a great program," Wyatt said. "I'm thrilled to participate."

Wyatt said the program, begun in 1997, aims not only to introduce fifth-graders to aviation as a potential career field, but also to get them thinking about the future in general.

"It's something to get the kids thinking about what their futures might hold and (we're) trying to introduce them to aviation," he said.

Wyatt said the company chose fifth grade as the age for the program because those pupils are getting ready to move up to middle school and are beginning to think more about the future.

As for Wyatt, he enjoys seeing the enthusiasm on the young faces in the classroom and in the training program's hangar.

For Alec Noble, Justin Risby and Nicholas Scarba, the day's adventure was not only a nice break from the rigors of elementary school, but something exciting to boot.

"This is really cool," Justin said, as he stood on the wing of a Cirrus SR-20 airplane in the CAPT program hangar.

Noble echoed that thought, saying the field trip was "cool" and he "really wanted to come."

Scarba added his own voice to the judgment, making the assessment unanimous. "It's really cool," he said from inside the airplane's cockpit.

Bishop said the trip to the airport capped several weeks of work and meeting with Wyatt. She said she found out about the Southwest Airlines program when she moved from teaching second grade to fifth grade.

"This opportunity was brought to my attention and I decided to take advantage of it," she said.

Bishop said Wyatt visited her class regularly and talked to the pupils about flying and careers in aviation. He also left a copy of his flight schedule so the kids could track his movements on a large map.

"They also calculated the mileage between his destinations," she said. "They got a lot of information and this is the culmination of all that work."

Before heading over to the airport Monday, Wyatt showed the class how to make paper airplanes and the pupils had a little competition to see whose creation could fly the longest. The winners got to keep two model airplanes Wyatt used to explain the principles of flight to the class.

Officials at the CAPT program said they are pleased to participate in the Adopt-A-Pilot program. Originally a venture of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the flying school was bought last August by Flight Training Services International.

Chris Kokai, manager of operations, said participating in the program is a lot of fun for the Flagler County facility.

"Most of these kids have no idea about aviation," he said. "We want to give them a little exposure to it. You never know who is going to take to this experience."

Kokai said the pupils get to hear about principles of flight, learn about aircraft maintenance and even fly an airplane simulator as part of the program.

"We want them to ask as many questions as they have," Kokai said.

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