Using a good dose of imagination and lots of enthusiasm, Armstrong first graders and I flew Armstrong Air to all kinds of places around the world. Armstrong Flight Day has become a traditional part of a geography segment in which students learn about the countries and cultures they and their families came from.

So, as soon as we get airborne – and you can see right here how the kids respond to the power in our jet engines –

– we talk about where we’re flying, whether our flight is a straight line or curved as shown on a map, and the shape of a map vs. the shape of the earth. Then I’ll ask if the temperature will be any different where we’re headed from what it is here in Westborough. The answer almost always is “yes”. Why? “Because of how close or how far it is from the equator.”

Great! And then in one class, when I asked, “What is the equator?”,…

…a first grader blew me away with: “The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the earth that equally divides the north half from the south half”.

With answers like that and many more like it, you’re flying terrifically high, Armstrong first grade – and having fun doing it!