SATELLITE BEACH, Florida USA — Thirty-two fifth-graders at Sea Park Elementary graduated with flying colors May 22 after completing Southwest Airline's Adopt-A-Pilot program.

Created in 1997, the four-week program introduces fifth-grade students to aviation by covering areas of math, science, geography, language arts and career planning.

Southwest Airline pilots from across the nation volunteer to teach the program during the spring semester at elementary schools, such as Sea Park.

Sea Park Elementary students prepare to launch rocket.

Rockledge resident Capt. Kevin Fox, who has flown with Southwest for 11 years, first became involved in the program in 2003.

With three children of his own at Sea Park Elementary, he said, the program was a perfect fit.

"It's just an easy way to promote education and get the kids excited about learning," Capt. Fox said. "I have a great time doing it."

For four weeks, Capt. Fox led fifth-graders in an array of hands-on experiments and taught students about the different areas of aviation, from flight attendants to customer service personnel.

"There's so many people who work behind the scenes in this career that the students don't usually realize," Capt. Fox said. "I also explain all that I do as a pilot and the traveling I do in 'my office,' as I like to call it."

Jessica Long, 11, said she was surprised by the amount of people involved in airline flying.

"It was neat to hear about all of those employees," she said. "I also liked being able to keep track of all of the different places Capt. Fox flew between his visits."

During the program, students participated in an experiment that used a ping-pong ball and a hair dryer to show the intensity of air pressure. They also paired up to build their own model rockets and launch them from the school's athletic field.

Students were also shown how to lift their science teacher, Charles Dear, by using a tire pump, small inner tube and a piece of plywood to spread the weight.

"I've been working with Capt. Fox for five years now with this program, and it always gets a great response from my students," Mr. Dear said. "It gets the kids involved and parallels with the curriculum I teach in class."

Since 1997, more than 170,000 fifth-graders from coast to coast have participated in the Adopt-A-Pilot program. More than 25,000 have completed the program this year alone.

"I didn't think that I would have as much fun as I did in this program," said fifth-grader Melanie Richardson. "It was really cool. Launching the rockets was the best part. If I could, I would do the program again next year."

For information about Southwest Airline's Adopt-A-Pilot program, visit www.southwest.com/programs_services/adopt.

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