How Airplanes Fly
How Airplanes Fly
These slides are designed to help you
find computer resources that can be
included in modeling the teaching of
science, history and technology of flight.
To Dream of Flying
Man has always dreamed of flying.
Who demonstrated the first model hot air
balloon before the Montgolfier brothers?
Find out more about the history of flight in the
Featured Links.
A Dream Come True
In the 1400’s Leonardo de Vinci designed a
magnificent flying machine.
500 years later man succeeded in flying.
Emphasis
Research the World Wide Web.
Use interactive websites to learn more
about:
The history of flight.
Emphasis
Research the World Wide Web.
Use interactive websites to learn more
about:
The history of flight.
The principles of flight.
Emphasis
Research the World Wide Web.
Use interactive websites to learn more
about:
The history of flight.
The principles of flight.
Computer-based demonstrations
and simulations.
Web Research
The Internet is a great place to do
research. You can use it to find information
on a topic of interest or to find resources
to use in class.
Find out more about Internet searching from
the NetSearch modules in the Web Library.
Learning from
Demonstrations
See the loose end from a roll of toilet paper
fly by using a hair dryer.
Demonstrations can be used to gain
student’s attention and teach concepts.
The Internet contains a plethora of great
demonstrations to use with your classes.
Jets versus Propellers
Compare principles of jet planes and
propeller driven planes. Use the Internet
for your exploration.
Check out the LDAPS sample curriculum at
the NASA site in Featured Links.
The Four Principles of
Flight
Bernoulli’s Law is a consequence of
Newton’s Laws.
Can you identify which of Newton’s Laws
is behind each of the four principles of
flight?
NASA sells an inexpensive interactive CD
that helps students explore flight through
simulations. Check out Exploring Aeronautics
in the Supporting Material.
It’s Flying
Airplane flight is explained by :
Newton’s Third Law.
Conservation of Momentum.
Coanda Effect.
Find out more about these principles on the
Internet. You can even see a movie
demonstrating the Coanda Effect in Featured
Links.
Wing Design
As you research on the Internet to find out
about how airplanes fly, you will find some
information will conflict with other
information.
The way wings work is a prime example of
a topic that generates confusing
explanations.
Check out conflicting ideas about wings
and the Coanda Effect in an article and
critique found in Supporting Material.
More information about wings can be found in
Supporting Material.
Thrust
Other key features of flight are the engines.
They provide the vital thrust to get planes in
the air and keep them moving.
Look at the interactive sites online that allow
you manipulate the parameters that produce
thrust.
Check out more about thrust in the Supporting
Material.
Airplane Design
There are many different designs for
aircraft. Using the computer to change
wing size, body length, and other features,
can provide students with valuable
concept development experiences.
The Internet has several Airplane Design
sites. See Featured Links and Supporting
Material.
Wind Tunnels
At a whopping 80x120 feet, this is the largest wind
tunnel in the world. It is located at NASA’s Ames
Research Center in California.
A real working model of a wind tunnel can be built
as a class project and used to test different
shapes.
Online wind tunnel designs can be found in Featured Links
The Role of Technology
1.What are ways computers are used in the
field of aeronautics?
2.How have airplanes changed our lives?
As you study the history of flight, consider
both of these questions.
Use the Internet as a resource for creating
a scrapbook around the development of
flying machines.
Remember - always get permission before
copying anything from the Internet.
T-6 Texan
The AT-6 advanced trainer was one of the most
widely used aircraft in history. More about the
history of these planes can be found in the web
military site www.af.mil search menu.
A pair of vintage T-6 “Texans”. Photo provided by
the U.S. Air Force.
History of Flight
Simulation
Learning with simulators can be almost as
beneficial as the real thing. Flight
simulators have existed since man first
started flying planes.
Learn more about the history of flight
simulators in the Featured Links.
Flight Instruments
You can teach all about an airplane’s
instrumentation without ever climbing into
a plane. There are web sites that explain
the function of each dial. Some of the sites
are interactive.
Try the Cyber cockpit in Supporting Material.
Comparing Instrument
Panels
Discover the evolution of the airplane
instrument panel and compare different
panels using Internet research.
The study of how instrument panels have
changed is a combination of a study in
history, science and technology.
Some sites can be found in Supporting
Material including a “how to” fly using an
instrument panel.
Paper Airplanes
Designing and flying paper airplanes are
fun ways to experiment with and learn
about how airplanes fly.
Online resources provide paper airplane
design ideas, templates, and even
simulations.
Check out one of out favorite paper airplane
sites in Featured Links.
Airplanes in Combat
A rich history of the role of the airplane in combat
can be found by searching the Internet. Students
can follow the development of combat aircraft from
the WWI Flying Circus to the latest unmanned
combat plane.
For a twist on the concept of combat pilots,
research female combat pilots.
Aircraft Carriers
How can a plane launch and land on a ship
at sea?
The first sea launch was a biplane that
took off in a rainstorm. Was it successful?
Find the answer in the Featured Link site
named below.
The U.S. Navy has created a website called
Evolution of Aircraft Carriers that can be
found in Featured Links.
Real People
Science and history are the results of real
people doing real things.
Search the Internet for letters, stories,
documents, newspaper articles, etc.
detailing who the people behind the
inventions and heroic deeds were.
Flight Simulators
Flight simulation programs and games can
be good learning tools to help students
understand flying from the pilot’s
perspective. They can also motive
students to learn more about the science
involved.
Flight simulation games on CD’s are easy
to find both online and in stores.
Some flight simulation programs are sold
by science education companies.
A free downloadable flight simulation program
can be found in Featured Links.
Gauging Flight
Use the discussion of gauges to teach
about concepts in flying.
Some examples could be:
Ground speed versus air speed.
Altitude (sea level versus ground).
Directions (NSEW versus angles).
Computers
Computers can simulate weather and terrain
conditions.
A downloadable demo that allows the user to
experience flying over various landforms is
found on the Internet.
Find the demo in Featured Links. Also check the
Supporting Material for more downloadable sites.
Computer Games
Computer flight simulation games just
keep getting better. You might also want
to try downloading a free demo of one.
Virtual Reality
As technology improves, three
dimensional virtual reality is becoming
more popular. The ideas behind the
technology are more than 50 years old.
Use the Internet to check out new types of
equipment and simulation programs that
use 3-D virtual reality.
Catapults
As big as an aircraft carrier is, it is pretty
small when it comes to launching and
landing hi tech aircraft.
Catapults have been used to launch
airplanes for 100 years. Follow its
development and adoption for use on
aircraft carriers.
Look in Featured Links for Catapults.
Airplanes Do Fly
Use an interdisciplinary approach to teach
about flight through physical science
principles, history and the development of
technology tools.
The computer can be used for research,
demonstrations, simulations and to
capture the excitement of learning about
flight.