National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration

www.nasa.gov

NASA

Junior Pilot

Program

Elementary Level—Grades K-5

Sustainable 

Aviation

FLIGHT LOG

ENDORSEMENT 

CODE

JRPBSA
Hi, my name is Orville, and I am a flying squirrel. I can 

not actually fly, but I can glide from branches high up 

the trees to the ground. This feels like flying to me.

I was named after one of the inventors of the airplane. 

My great-great-great-grandfather, Samuel, was lucky 

enough to see Orville Wright and his brother, Wilbur, 

become the first people to make and fly an airplane. 

Samuel fell in love with airplanes and enjoyed watching 

them get better and better throughout his life. Like 

Samuel, I love airplanes. 

I live in a forest in Virginia, near one of the places where NASA works on 

airplanes. I have lots of friends who work for NASA. They like to tell me 

how they make airplanes safer, faster, and quieter. They are also working on 

“Sustainable aviation” which means making airplanes better for the forests 

and other places. I love this because it helps protect where I live!

Orville D. Squirrel

Activity 1: 

Decode the 

secret 

message

Use the key below to decode the secret message.

19 21 19 20 1 9 14 1 2 12 5

1 22 9 1 20 9 15 14

KEY

1

A

2

B

3

C

4

D

5

E

6

F

7

G

8

H

9

I

10

J

11

K

12

L

13

M

N

14

O

15

P

16

Q

17

R

18

S

19

T

20

U

21

V

22

W

23

X

24

Y

25

Z

26
NASA

Activity 2: 

Recolor our 

logo

NASA is part of the United States Government. People who work for NASA 

work on aeronautics (airplanes and other aircraft) and space exploration. Lots 

of different people work for NASA doing many different jobs.

NASA’s logo is red, white 

and blue. Do you think it 

would look cool with other 

colors? Pick the colors 

you like and color the logo 

below to see how it looks!
NASA Makes 

Lots of Airplanes!

Activity 3: 

Identify the 

shadow

NASA has been making airplanes for over 75 years! They have made planes 

with lots of different shapes and sizes. NASA makes planes to try new things. 

This will make flight even better!

Below there are 4 different planes that NASA has worked on. There are also 

shadows that the planes make when they fly. Try to figure out which shadow 

is made by which plane. Draw a line from each plane to the shadow it makes.
The X-66

Activity 4: 

Color your 

own X-66

The Transonic Truss-Braced Wing is a cool new idea for a future airliner.

This airplane is designed to use less gas, which is good for our environment.

The airplane was designed by NASA and Boeing engineers.

How do you think the X-66 should be painted? 

Color the picture below to show your design!
Pilots need to see very well to be able to fly planes. 

How is your eyesight? Look closely at the two pictures 

of the X-57 below. The X-57 was an airplane NASA 

worked on that used electricity instead of fuel. They 

pictures look the same, but there are 5 differences 

between the pictures. Can you find all 5 of them? 

Circle the differences.

Activity 5: 

Spot the 

differences
Activity 6: 

Identify which 

use batteries Airplanes need power to be able to fly. Most airplanes 

get this power by burning fuel, which can hurt the 

environment. That is why NASA is exploring ways to 

use electricity for some parts of airplanes! Some aircraft 

will only use electricity to fly. Others will use both fuel-burning engines and 

electricity. Some cars, called hybrids, do that now. Using some electricity will 

save fuel when planes fly.

Lots of other things also get electricity from batteries. Look at the items 

below. Circle the 5 items that get power from batteries.

Source of Power
Which light won't light up?

Activity 7:

Follow the 

wires

For a light bulb to light up, it needs electricity. It gets 

electricity when the battery is connected to the bulb. The 

bulb can be connected with wires or anything else that 

lets electricity travel through it to complete a circuit.

Below, there are 3 batteries and 4 light bulbs. Follow 

the wires to see which light bulb is NOT connected to 

a battery, meaning it won’t light up. Circle the bulb that 

won’t light up!

Battery

Battery

Battery

Bonus Challenge: Can you figure out which battery is connected to each light 

bulb? Draw lines between the batteries and the bulbs they send electricity to. It 

might be easier if you use different colors for each battery and bulb.
Activity 8:

Circuit board 

maze

Amazing Electricity

Circuit boards are used in many electronic devices including X-planes. 

Help Orville find his way through the maze shown above. If the maze is 

too hard for you, try the maze shown below instead. This version of the 

maze has lightning bolts to help Orville through the maze. He needs to 

pass through each lightning bolt.
Math is Important!

Math can be used to help make art. Look at the math problems 

in each square below. Some are correct and others are wrong! 

If the addition problem is correct, color the square black. If the 

subtraction problem is correct, color the square yellow. If the 

problem is wrong, do not color that square in. What do you see?

Activity 9:

Do the math

3+6=10

10–5=3

6+3=10

8–4=5

6+6=13

9+2=11

8–6=5

5–4=2

1+1=3

6+5=12

3–2=2

8+8=15

9–8=2

3+6=8

5+3=8

7+3=10

11–3=8

9+3=12

6+6=12

5+6=12

9+9=0

8–6=6

7–2=4

12–4=9

5+1=6

5–3=2

6–2=4

10–8=2

8–5=3

8–7=1

9+5=14

3+8=10

12–2=9

4–2=4

6+4=10

15–8=7

2–1=1

1–0=1

2–2=0

6–1=5

18–9=9

9–5=4

7+7=14

3–3=6

7+2=8

2+5=7

12–6=6

5–2=3

13–6=7

7–4=3

7–7=0

16–9=7

3–3=0

1+6=7

10–6=5

9–8=0

8+5=13

14–5=9

7–2=5

11–9=2

9–1=8

6–4=2

8–6=2

6–3=3

3+6=9

6–3=4

11–8=4

1+9=10

14–8=6

10–7=3

7–3=4

17–8=9

10–6=4

4–2=2

10–9=1

3+9=12

8–8=1

15–0=0

7+0=7

6–4=2

15–6=9

9–0=9

10–8=2

14–9=5

10–7=3

5–2=3

3+7=10

3+7=11

3–2=0

6–2=2

4+6=10

9–4=5

11–3=8

9–4=5

10–3=7

7–2=5

6+7=13

0–0=1

2+7=10

11–9=1

13–7=2

8+2=11

3+2=5

7–3=4

15–9=6

12–7=5

1+8=9

6–4=1

3–2=2

3+8=12

4–1=2

18–7=9

6+6=11

4+4=8

5–2=3

14-7=7

12–8=4

0+8=8

1–1=1

11–8=8

1+8=10

6–2=8

16–8=7

2+7=6

3+7=11

6+2=8

8–5=3

4+7=11

8+8=14

7+7=0

5–6=1

3+5=7

8–2=5

17–9=7

5+5=9

1+11=6

3+3=6

6+9=15

7+2=9

6+4=11

2–1=0

7–3=10

0+12=8

10–8=4

6+8=15

4+7=13

3+9=13

4+4=8

8+2=10

5+6=11

14+7=7

8–0=3

9–2=8

7+9=17

13–8=2

0–5=5

8–7=10

5–0=0

4+5=9

0+7=7

2+8=10

8+1=10

4+2=7

8–3=6

6–2=5

4–1=4

3–6=3

17–9=9

5+6=12

3+9=12

0+8=10

9–6=4

7–7=1

9–5=2

8+8=14

6+4=4

0123456789

7 8 9 ÷

MRC M- M+ ON

% +⁄– CE

4 5 6 ×

1 2 3 −

0 • = +

Math is an 

important tool for 

NASA’s engineers!!!
How will the X-66 save fuel?

NASA has been working on airplanes 

for more than 100 years. In that time, 

they have learned lots of ways to make 

airplanes better.

The X-66 will use a lot of different ideas 

that NASA has learned to make it use 

less fuel while flying. The wings are 

longer and skinnier than other airplanes. 

Also, the X-66 will have engines that use 

a new kind of fuel.

All these thing together will make the 

X-66 one of the most environmentally 

friendly passenger airplanes ever made!

Activity 10:

X-66 over 

your town

Pretend the X-66 is flying over where you live. Below, draw your town 

including any trees, plants, buildings, or whatever else is near you. Do 

not forget to add yourself to the picture!
More to Do and Learn!

Answers

You can visit these NASA web pages to find more activities and information:

• X-59 Junior Pilot: https://www.nasa.gov/stem-content/nasas-junior-pilotprogram-x-59/

• Aeronautics @ Home: Lots of fun activities! https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/

armd/aeronautics-home/

• All About NASA's Sustainable Aviation Program: https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/

armd/sustainable-aviation/



National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA Headquarters

300 E. Street, SW

Washington, DC 20546

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