Adopt-A-Pilot Surveys Ready for Your Feedback

If you're an Adopt-A-Pilot Pilot or teacher, then hopefully you've already received an e-mail inviting you to participate in the fun and easy online Adopt-A-Pilot Survey. This year-end survey takes just a few minutes for you, and it helps us for years to come.

We rely on your feedback to improve and grow the program, so please jump online to let us know what works, what doesn't, and what wild and wonderful ideas you have for making things better. (Teachers, you may have firewall issues if connecting from school computers -- if so, please connect from library or home computers.)

If you need the link and instructions for the survey again, just send us an e-mail at adoptapilot@wnco.com and put "Need Survey Instructions" in the Subject line.

Thanks again for being a part of a great 2009 Adopt-A-Pilot program. We look forward to your input, and to your participation next year!

Final Entries In, Judging to Begin

The Adopt-A-Pilot Crew wants to thank the hundreds of students who have submitted a design for next year's official Adopt-A-Pilot Tie. As of June 5, all entries for the Adopt-A-Pilot Tie Design Contest will be in, and the judging will begin.

If you're the winner, your design will be incorporated into a professionally designed silk tie worn by hundreds of Pilots across the country! You'll also be honored with an official Southwest Airlines plaque commemorating your design and the resulting tie!

Each year, our Pilots proudly wear the limited edition silk ties that help spread the word about the fun of the Adopt-A-Pilot program. Not only are they a coveted piece of fashion for our adopted Pilots, but they're a great conversation starter, with Passengers nationwide asking about the creative ties and the Adopt-A-Pilot program.

Look for future announcements on the winner - and thanks for helping us celebrate Adopt-A-Pilot's dedication to supporting education and youth leadership!

The 2009 Tie Design Contest Winner Proudly Displays Her Official Plaque.

An AAP Interview with "Adopted" Southwest Airlines Pilots

Pilot Ross has been involved in the Adopt-A-Pilot program for nine years -- he started with his youngest son's class back in 2001 and has been hooked ever since. The Little Rock Pilot has been in such demand that he's been adopted by multiple classes some years -- once working with an entire school full of sixth graders -- 101 students in all! Here, the Adopt-A-Pilot Crew interviews Pilot Lee Ross.

Q:  Why do you volunteer in the Adopt-A-Pilot program?

A:  I started doing the Adopt-A-Pilot program during my second year with Southwest Airlines. The students seemed to like the program and the teacher did, as well. She invited me to come back, and it continued from there. I've now completed nine years with the same class and have had many brothers and sisters come through the classroom. For a couple years, I volunteered in other classrooms, along with the school where my son attended. In every class I have found that the children are very interested in learning about careers, how we move about the country, and how airplanes fly. I have enjoyed sharing what I've learned about the need to continue an education regardless of the occupation that is selected and the excitement I feel when I go to work. Teaching one lesson a week is fun!

Q:  What are funny questions students ask?

A:  I have students ask the normal questions, like "Where is your favorite place to spend the night?" The funniest, at least to the students, is "Have you ever seen an alien spaceship?" This is usually asked at least once per class. I just have to say, "No, but I'll keep looking!"

Q:  What do you most enjoy teaching to your students?

A:  My favorite lesson is how airplanes fly. I usually save this lesson for last -- it's a fun one with lots of student interaction. I've added to the lesson by having the kids fold paper airplanes and seeing which one will fly the farthest -- works well in the auditorium where there is room to fly planes. I also like to talk about their career plans. I usually get blank stares when I first start talking about a career choice, but by the time we complete the homework and talk about their responses during my second visit, they are energized to find out more about what they want to do in the future.

Q:  What's something you've added to the curriculum?

A:  There is a lesson that was in the original Adopt-A-Pilot curriculum that I still use.  It is an art lesson that emphasizes two-dimensional vision with three-dimensional thinking.  I teach this lesson during my third visit to the class.  The lesson uses art to demonstrate the type of thinking that an air traffic controller must use to keep traffic separated.  I show the class how a single-dimension board, like a dry erase board, can be used to draw a picture with depth by using a single-point perspective drawing (the old rail road tracks and power lines that disappear into the horizon).  Then I use the balloon pictures from the old curriculum to show how depth can come from size, shape and height of an object.  I follow this with a discussion and drawing of how an air traffic controller uses a one-dimensional radar screen to form a three-dimensional picture in his mind of where and how airplanes move through his airspace. 

I follow this with a short description of a flight profile from takeoff to landing and how many controllers I talk to on a typical flight.  I emphasize the fact that only the tower controllers can actually see the airplanes that they control.  Then, with the time remaining, I hand out a paper with three jets of different sizes that can be colored, cut out and then glued to a second piece of colored construction paper to form their own art using the concepts of size, height, and shape.  This is a great one-hour lesson that lets the kids be creative and interact in what they have just learned.  Plus, I've been able to introduce another career and show a normal flight profile all in one lesson. AAP Crew Note: For a PDF of the original AAP curriculum, contact us at adoptapilot@wnco.com.

Thanks Pilot Ross for your years of service and your inventive approach. If Pilots or teachers would like to be interviewed by the AAP Crew, drop us an e-mail at adoptapilot@wnco.com, and say "Interview me for the AAP Blog!"

Congratulations to the Adopt-A-Pilot National Contest Winners!

Adopt-A-Pilot is proud to announce the winners of the 2009 Adopt-A-Pilot "LUV Our Earth" National Contest. These schools have gone green in award-winning ways, and they will each receive a $500 scholarship that will go toward classroom supplies and educational materials.

Southwest Airlines would also like to thank our expert panel of judges: Peter, Student Conservation Association; Evan, National Wildlife Refuge Association;  and Sarah, National Geographic Society.

WINNERS

Royalton-Hartland Middle School, Middleport, NY

Teacher: Dave Huntington

Adopted Pilot: Bernard Shanahan

Woodland Intermediate, Gurnee, IL

From the "Schall Stars" at Aldrich Elementary

Our class has a hero by the name of Captain Garrett. He is one of those people we look forward to have coming to teach our class about science, social studies, and math.

Captain Garrett makes learning fun by experiments and other fun activities. We learned about the Bernoulli Principle when Captain Garrett used a ping-pong ball and a hair dryer to show us how slow moving air creates more pressure and fast moving air creates less pressure.

We calculated how many miles Captain Garrett flies in one month, and we tracked his movement on a huge map. You should see the map! He criss-crosses the United States many times.

Lift, thrust, gravity, and drag are all words that help describe the forces at work on an airplane.

Captain Garrett was in the Air Force a few years ago. He brought a video tape of airplanes being re-fueled in mid-air! It was amazing!

Captain Garrett even brought a video tape of his trip to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, which fit right in with our social studies lessons.

Captain Garrett cares about kids, he is a great teacher, a wonderful role model, and is truly a Pilot to remember. We would like to fly in his plane any day.

Captain Garrett, thanks for helping us soar with knowledge.

Teaching is to touch a life forever.

Sue Schall

5th Grade Teacher

Aldrich Elementary

Omaha, NE

A Look at Pilot Gary H.'s Letters to Trenton Middle School

FROM THE ADOPT-A-PILOT CREW: Following is a an excerpt from Pilot Gary H.'s letters to his students. This is a great example of how "adopted" Pilots correspond with their classes while away. We'd love to hear from more Pilots and classes on how you stay connected. Tell us by clicking on "Share A Story" or send us an e-mail at adoptapilot@wnco.com.

Hi TMS 5th Grade!

I am writing you today from San Francisco again, but because I'm flying the same trip I flew last week, I thought I'd give you the routing from a trip I flew earlier in the month. Go ahead and put this day on the map and add this to the flying log. The first day of the trip went like this:

DAL to MSY

MSY to TPA

JAX to BWI

BWI to BDL

During my actual flying today, I crossed the Rio Grande River, the Arkansas River, and the Colorado River. Like the Nile River through Egypt, the Rio Grande and the Colorado wind their way through the desert. Along their banks, towns spring up and irrigation makes the otherwise barren desert productive.

We also flew over El Paso, TX, where from 40,000 feet you can look north and see the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, near Hollomon Air Force Base. The sand is so white that every month on a full moon, they open a safe portion to the public to have midnight picnics - they say it as bright as the day on the white sand.

From 40,000 feet you can also see the slight curvature of the earth and notice how dark blue the sky is up where there is so little air.

We also flew by Lake Havasu City, part of the Colorado River and formed by Parker Dam in the 1930s. The city was the brainchild of outboard motor & chainsaw manufacturer Robert P. McCulloch. Here there is an island attached to the main city by the London Bridge...not a replica, but the actual London Bridge! McCulloch bought it from the city of London for $2.5 million and had it transported and reassembled between 1968 and 1971 at an additional cost of $7 million. Today, over 55,000 people call Lake Havasu City their home.

On our arrival into Los Angeles, we passed about 30 miles north of Salton Sea. The sea was formed in 1905 when, responding to farmers' concerns about irrigation channels from the Colorado River that were choked with silt, the Army Corps of Engineers created a temporary diversion of the river which later was breached by floodwaters. The Colorado emptied almost exclusively into the valley for over two years before it was finally contained. Today the Salton Sea (which sits about 200 feet BELOW sea level) is an important and very productive inland fishing source.

Have a great day and let me know if you have any questions!

Your Pilot,

Gary

A Look at Pilot Gary H.'s Letters to Trenton Middle School

FROM THE ADOPT-A-PILOT CREW: Following is a an excerpt from Pilot Gary H.'s letters to his students. This is a great example of how "adopted" Pilots correspond with their classes while away. We'd love to hear from more Pilots and classes on how you stay connected. Tell us by clicking on "Share A Story" or send us an e-mail at adoptapilot@wnco.com.

A Look at Pilot Gary H.'s Letters to Trenton Middle School

FROM THE ADOPT-A-PILOT CREW: Following is a an excerpt from Pilot Gary H.'s letters to his students. This is a great example of how "adopted" Pilots correspond with their classes while away. We'd love to hear from more Pilots and classes on how you stay connected. Tell us by clicking on "Share A Story" or send us an e-mail at adoptapilot@wnco.com.

Hi Students!

Today I am writing you from the "City by the Bay." This city was home to the most devasting earthquake in U.S. history in 1906. It boasts a professional football team and a professional baseball team (two of each if you count nearby Oakland); an infamous (but no longer used) federal prison known as “the rock;” and one of the most well known bridges in the world – the Golden Gate Bridge.

This city is one of America's hilliest cities with steep roadways and streetcars. You see images of this city almost every day in commercials, TV shows, and movies. Can you guess the name of this city? 

It is in the state known as the "Golden State.”   Maybe you want to use the Internet to find out more about this fascinating town and some of the amazing places you can see here – like those I mentioned above or even Lombard Street, Fisherman’s Wharf, and the TransAmerica building. I always like spending time in this town because it is so beautiful.

To get here, I started in LIT and flew the following legs:

LIT      to         DAL

DAL    to         SAT

SAT     to         LAX

LAX    to         ???

Make sure you draw the legs, figure out the mileage, and add up the total for the day! On Friday, I will be in class to talk to you about this city and some of the most interesting places in America. I will also be checking out mileage totals, and going over your first assignment. i will write you another letter tomorrow night from another city in the Southwest Airlines system!

Your Pilot - Gary

Go Behind the Scenes with Adopt-A-Pilot

The Adopt-A-Pilot program officially runs from February to May, but did you know that it takes a year of planning to prepare for those exciting four months?

For the Adopt-A-Pilot Crew, preparation for February’s kick-off begins in February of the previous year! The Crew begins brainstorming ideas of how to make the program bigger and better every year. Because the program is free to schools and costs must stay very low, The Crew spends a lot of time negotiating prices for program supplies, as well as determining and developing cost-saving alternatives. Surveys are sent out at the end of every Adopt-A-Pilot season to all participating Pilots and Teachers. Those surveys help determine the direction for the next year’s program.

One of the biggest projects The Crew takes on is the January mail-out of all the program supplies to every Pilot and school participating in the program. More than 33,000 curriculum booklets are printed for students, teachers, and Pilots! This year, the Crew - with a lot of help from a lot of friends at Southwest's headquarters in Dallas, Texas - sent out more than 2,000 boxes to schools and Pilots across the country. Take a look at some of the photos from the mail out.

With a shipment this big, things aren't always smooth sailing, but we're working each year to make it better. Do you have ideas on how to make the program even better next year? Let us know!

A Look at Pilot Gary H.'s Letters to Trenton Middle School

FROM THE ADOPT-A-PILOT CREW: Following is an excerpt from Pilot Gary H.'s letter to his students. This is a great example of how "adopted" Pilots correspond with their classes while away. We'd love to hear from more Pilots and classes on how you stay connected. Tell us by clicking on "Share A Story" or send us an e-mail at adoptapilot@wnco.com.

Hi Trenton Middle School 5th Graders!

I’m writing you from an unusual location for me – the back of an airplane that isn’t operated by Southwest, it’s operated by “the other guys.”  One good thing is that many large airlines let Pilots from most other airlines fly free so they can travel between home and work. This way, Pilots enjoy the freedom to live anywhere. I know a few Southwest Pilots who even live in Alaska and the Caribbean  islands!

With over 3400 flights a day to 64 cities, Southwest definitely helps our fair share of Pilots from many different airlines get around the country every day. We call it “commuting.” Every week, I need to get to the “domicile” or “crew base” that my trip starts from in time to begin my flying. Sometimes my trips start in the morning – in that case, I usually have to travel in the night before and get a hotel room on my own (like this trip). Sometimes my trips start in the afternoon – then I usually can get a ride to the crew base in the morning but normally I would finish my trip too late at my base to get home, so I spend the night and fly home the next day. Work is great, but there is no place like home!

This week, I am riding first to Dallas, my current crew base and the headquarters of Southwest Airlines, and then to the city that is the capital of Arkansas so I can start a trip tomorrow morning. Let's go over a few things:

I would like you to put your Adopt-A-Pilot map of the country (your teacher has it in the box from Southwest) on the wall or on a bulletin board in your homeroom so everyone will be able to see it. Look at the map - notice that there are no city names on it?  You will have to use your Adopt-A-Pilot books or other maps to help you. Each day when I am flying, I will send you an e-mail and let you know where I have flown that day. As a class, you will find the cities on the map and draw each “leg” of my flight for the day. Then you will enter the routing in your own workbook, along with the mileage for each leg, and then the total miles for each day. You will be amazed at how far I can travel in just one month.

Next, let’s work out the legs of my commute from last night and figure out the miles I rode:

MCI     to         DAL

DAL    to         ? (the capital of Arkansas)

Finally, make sure you do a good job on your interview homework. We’ll go over it in class and you are going to use it to help you do another assignment later.

Well – that’s it for today, tomorrow I will send some pictures too! 

Your Pilot - Gary