Minisink Valley teachers always look to make STEM connections to the real world, among most recent being in Jaclyn Lockett’s sixth-grade science class.

There, students had the opportunity to have a video conversation with Captain Greg Hudson, a Spirit Airlines pilot who flies the Airbus A320 on domestic routes and international routes to Central and South America.

As part of the class’ studies on how gravity affects the Earth and moon, Captain Hudson fielded questions about gravity, the different forces of motion and how they affect airplanes.

Captain Hudson told students that airplanes fly only six miles high, while “space” is defined as at 65 miles high. This allowed students to put into perspective how high space really is.

Students loved the opportunity to quiz an airline pilot.

“It was really neat to speak to a real pilot,” said Aiden Wilbur.

Kaitlyn Davis-Harrington added:  “I hope one day I can see the inside of a cockpit, where the pilot flies.”