Captain Peter Hayes, a resident of Island Estates and a pilot for Southwest Airlines, has brought North Ward Elementary 5th grade students a wonderful learning experience through his company's "Adopt-A-Pilot" program.
A volunteer expecting no pay, he happily comes to the fifth grades classes of Mrs. Szirmai and Mrs. Zimmerman to teach about aeronautics, doing experiments using a ping-pong ball and hair dryer to demonstrate how low and air pressure affects the lift of the airplane. Captain Hayes showed the students how the other forces, such as drag, gravity, and thrust, work on an airplane.
The 5th graders also learned about facts of different U.S. cities. Do you know that there are actually two Kansas cities? One is the state of Kansas and the other one is in Missouri! Do you know that there are 24 time zones around the world?
Captain Hayes has inspired many students to consider careers in the airline industry. AIM HIGH!!!