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Mimicking Nature; Science, Aviation, Flight, Wings
Students consider the relationship between form and flight and investigate the history of man made flight and how wing shape and flexibility affects the maneuverability of an aircraft.
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Airplane Propeller
Students examine the different kinds of propellers and their functions. In this airplane lesson students build a hand made propeller.
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Wing Shapes and Areas
Students, after reading the explanation given below, use FoilSim to determine the weight of the aircraft that can be lifted by a pair of wings of each type. They also design a unique platform of a wing to lift a plane weighing 11500 pounds.
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Wing Area Effects Problem Set
Students read an explanation from a NASA Web-based textbook on lift and an explanation on the FoilSim software package given below. They use FoilSim to evaluate the relationship between wing area and lift.
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Lift and Launch Angle
Students engage in a hands-on experiment to determine how launch angles affect airflow around the wing of an aircraft. They view a series of photographs and read information describing the Wright Brothers' experiences. They complete a...
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Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
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How Do Airplanes Fly?
Students study the concepts of air pressure, air speed, and gravity as it relates to airplanes. In this how do airplanes fly lesson plan, students study the basics of flight. Then reinforce their fine motor skills by creating airplane...
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Aerodynamics
Students discover the basic principles of aerodynamics, including the roles and identity of natural forces involved. They examine how the force of gravity is overcome by the curved shape of an airplane wing and air pressure.
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Design of Airfoil for Given Lift
Students use FoilSim to design an airplane wing that generates a given lift. As they change parameters such as airspeed, altitude, angle of attack, thickness and curvature of the airfoil, and size of the wing area, the software...
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On the Wright Brothers' Flight Path
In this airplane worksheet, students complete a graphic organizer by comparing three Wright brothers' airplanes: how were they alike and how were they different.
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The "Wright" Puzzle
In this airplane worksheet, students complete a crossword puzzle by figuring out the answers to 12 questions about the flying machines created by the Wright Brothers.
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Raptor Force
Learners observe a video about pilots, their desired traits, and explore the similarities between a bird and an airplane. Using paper, wood or foam, they design create an aircraft to be flown in a competition to see which plane will fly...
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A Clasroom Study of the Life of an Airplane
High schoolers participate in an experiment to discover the properties of lift. They work together to complete calculations and collect data. They share their results with the class.
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#22c Airplane flight #22d Airplane flight--How High? How Fast?
Learners discuss the application of frames of reference to an airplane flying with a constant velocity v through the air.
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Airplane flight
High schoolers learn the basic concepts about airplane flight. They learn the reason jetliner wings are swept back and why jet engines have replaced propellers in high-speed flight.
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Characteristics of Lift and Wing Area
Learners use FoilSim to complete the activity and investigate the factors that affect lift and how wing area and lift are related.
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Wing Specifications
Ninth graders use FoilSim to fulfill the specifications of a given airfoil (wing) and plot and interpret graphs.
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Introduction to Flight: A Math, Science and Technology Integrated Project
Seventh graders review graphing procedures and practice locating points using x,y coordinates. Students calculate the areas of the top and bottom surfaces of the airfoil. They construct a test model of the airfoil.
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Upside-Down Wings
Students use FoilSim to demonstrate that the graphic analysis of the airflow around one object can be used to hypothesize airflow graphs for objects as they are elongated from a sphere to an airfoil shape.
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Sailing Through Bernoulli
Students participate in a class discussion about Bernoulli's principle while looking at cross-sections of an airplane wing, and discussing the sail on a sailboat and the spoiler on a race car.
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Four Forces of Flight
Students explore the four forces of flight. They investigate the four forces of flight: lift, drag, thrust and weight (gravity). They experiment with flight-testing various objects commonly found around the house and constructing paper...
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How Do Airplanes Get Off the Ground
Students construct various types of paper airplanes, exploring action and reaction forces by conducting a paper airplane rodeo. Students then discuss how Newton's Third Law of Motion affected their planes.
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How Things Fly
Young scholars conduct a series of hands-on experiments that help them explain the role of lift in fixed-wing flight. They observe the flow of air and water around several surfaces and then consider the dynamics of airflow around an...
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Flight Home
Students experiment to investigate the role in fixed-wing flight. They watch as air and water flow around surfaces to examine the dynamics of airflow around an aircraft wing.