Over 49,000 digitized primary documents having to do with the Wright brothers and their work with flight. A timeline of the brothers' work, a family tree, and other special presentations are offered.

Based off of the hit television show NUMB3RS, this "fun" lesson has students creating paper airplanes and testing different variables (weight, wings, etc.) to see what type of plane flies the best. Data Analysis and imagination are both...

Think about the challenges that faced the Wright Brothers, then see if you can design and fly your own model aircraft. There are other sources provided to help you along the way.

This comprehensive and informative site looks at the history and principles of flight.

Students create a blimp and then experiment with the design to improve its aerodynamics.

This resource provides a general overview on the job of a pilot. It includes the Nature of the work, Working conditions, Employment, Training, job outlook, earnings, related occupations, and additional sources of informations.

Being a pilot seems like a glamorous career. Read about what kind of education you need to have to be accepted into pilot training. Included on this site is a listing of the "on the job" responsibilites of pilots of all types of...

Before pilots ever step behind the controls of a real jet they've already logged thousands of virtual air miles. It might not qualify you to fly a real jumbo jet, but you too, can learn the logistics of aviation by experimenting with the...

This lesson plan has learners read primary materials from the Smithsonian collection written by the Wright brothers, and compare and contrast them to secondary sources, such as newspaper stories from the next day. There is background...

Features 100 aircraft, airfields, research labs, military installations, battle sites, launch facilities, and other places that tell about people and events that made the U.S. a world leader in aviation. Highlights of this travel...

Collection of articles ranging from basic to advanced on aerodynamics theory.

A site that chronicles the life of Octave Chanute, an aeronautical engineer involved in flight before the Wright brothers.

Learn about the history and features of Air Force One, the plane used to transport the President of the United States, our Commander-in-Chief.

An introduction to thrust and how it relates to airplanes, told in an animated format.

Learn about the life and work of the first American woman to become a licensed pilot and the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

This resource from Careers New Zealand provides a thorough look at career as Air Force Officer. General sections covered include: tasks and duties, personal requirements, how to enter the job, working conditions, employment conditions,...

While we know there is air around us all the time, we normally do not notice the air pressure. The purpose of this is activity is to use Bernoulli's Principle to manipulate air pressure so we can see its influence on the objects around us.

In this activity, the students will learn about material properties. They will learn that engineers must consider several material properties when designing. This activity focuses on strength-to-weight ratios and how sometimes the...

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, which is the physical law that governs thrust in aircraft. The students will do several activities that show that for every action there is an equal and opposite...

The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate how aircraft have decreased the amount of time it takes to transport people and cargo. Students will compute the time it takes to travel between two cities for several modes of...

The purpose of this activity is to bring together the students' knowledge of engineering and airplanes and the creation of a glider model to determine how each modification affects the flight. The students will use a design procedure...

The purpose of this activity is for the students to draw a design for their own flying machine. They will apply their knowledge of aircraft design and the forces acting on them. The students will start with a brainstorming activity where...

Students learn about archives and primary sources as they research original historical documents. While preparing an imaginative first-person account as if witnessing an historical event, they learn to appreciate the value of the...

The purpose of this lesson plan is to help students understand the relationship between the mass and the weight of an object. Students will study the properties of common materials and why airplanes use specific materials.