K-8 Students

Flying is Fun! 

Have you caught the “flight bug”? Join the club! 

On any given day, more than 45,000 commercial flights take to the air in the United States carrying 2.9 million passengers and nearly 122 million pounds of cargo.* And while it takes a team with many aviation professionals working together to make this happen without incident, at the controls of each plane is a professional airline pilot.

Best of all, anyone with a passion, aptitude for flying, and meeting the requirements can become an airline pilot, regardless of your race, gender, or background. It takes hard work and a plan, but even those with limited financial resources can find ways to achieve their dreams of becoming an airline pilot. 

Here are some tips to get you started today:

1. Request a pilot visit at your school or club event.
2. Talk with the pilot on your next flight.
3. Take a discovery flight.
4. Visit your local airport.
5. Build and fly model airplanes.
6. Visit your local aviation museum.
7. Research aviation online (e.g., how airplanes fly, what types of aircraft there are, etc.).
8. Join the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or other organization that has an aviation merit badge/focus.
9. Become a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol.
10. Enroll in a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) school.

This is a growing list of activities. Also be sure to check out your local aviation community; there may be quite a few activities and events for you to join. Send your ideas to Education@alpa.org. 

*2019 Federal Aviation Administration data