As they sat, their feet didn’t reach the pedals. And they had to stretch their necks to see out the windshield.

But the students in Catherine Maguire’s and Lois Conway’s second-grade classes at Warwick Neck Elementary School all had wide grins, in awe, as they got to experience something that the transportation unit in their reading textbook can’t convey—actually sitting in the pilot’s seat of a small plane.

Transportation is the final unit in their reading books, said former Warwick Superintendent of Schools Henry Tarlian. So yesterday morning’s field trip to Horizon Aviation’s hangar at Theodore Francis Green Airport tied in nicely, bringing the reading unit to life.

Although many have flown in commercial jets before, most of the children had never been in a small plane. One student, Emma Williams, said her dad is a pilot for Jet Blue. “He flies to Florida,” she said, adding that she might like to become a pilot too.

Not only did the students pretend to fly a Cessna 172, but they also saw other planes and learned how they’re flown and maintained.

As each student sat in the plane, they learned about the instrument and control panel, and they got to move the yoke—that is, the plane’s steering controls. Horizon Aviation manager and flight instructor Chris Porter showed them how the movements affected the plane’s direction. Moving the controls left and right moved the wing ailerons up and down so as to turn the plane, while pushing and pulling the controls in and out points the plane’s nose down and up.

Porter also showed the students how to use the plane’s radio, which allows pilots to contact other pilots and air traffic control. Porter asked them if they had ever used walkie-talkies.

“They’re just so excited,” said Porter. “They think it’s really cool. This is how you plant a seed. When I was 10 years old, I flew right out of the airport, and I’ve wanted to do it ever since.”

Tarlian, who is a licensed pilot, expressed a similar sentiment. He said he had became a plane enthusiast when he was an 8-year-old boy, sitting in his cousin’s plane.

The children ‘Oooed’ and pointed as they watched commercial jets approach the runways at Green Airport. They were wowed by how loud even the smaller aircraft were.

They excitedly asked lots of questions about the planes, like “Where’s the gas tank?” The answer; it’s located on top of the wing.

Victoria Kuo gave the children a tour of the hangar, showing them the various types of planes kept in Horizon Aviation’s “garage,” and introducing them to the mechanics who keep the aircraft flight-worthy.

One of the students, Anthony Antonelli, said he particularly enjoyed seeing how the planes are fixed and maintained. He explained the routine.

“Every 100 hours, it comes in to get fixed,” Antonelli said. “Every 30 hours it gets an oil change.”

Tarlian explained to the children the importance of thoroughly inspecting the planes before flying them.

“You know what every good pilot does? A pre-flight inspection. Before you even think of flying it,” he told them.

“There’s no way to check it once you’re in the air.”

While touring the facility and pretending to be pilots was a good excuse to get out of the classroom, the goal of the trip was to illuminate what students had learned in class and expose them to what could become a future career or hobby.

“When you turn a youngster onto something that they will latch onto for the rest of their lives, you’ve accomplished something,” said Tarlian.