Episode 29 – Learning To Fly

First, you will need to download the Learning To Fly lab manual, and the NASA Sled Kite template.

So, it may have been a little while since you last flew on a plane. Or maybe you have never flown in a plane at all! The question I always ask myself when I fly is, “how does this huge thing even stay in the air?”. Perhaps you wonder the same about birds! Well, we can thank four important things for that, and those are thrust, drag, weight, and lift.

Thrust is the force that pushes the airplane through the air. Drag is the force that tries to keep the airplane down, opposite of thrust. Weight is the force that pulls the airplane down due to gravity. Lift is the force that keeps the airplane in the air, it works opposite of weight.

Using what we know about thrust, drag, weight, and lift, we will examine how we can best design an airplane to ensure it stays in the air in this episode. What did you discover? Which airplane design seemed to work best? Why do you think that is?

Did you know the first successful airplane was created in 1903? That means airplanes have only been around 117 years! The Wright Brothers can be credited for this invention. What would our world look like without airplanes?

Saskatchewan Curriculum Connection: FL6.2: Investigate how the forces of thrust, drag, lift, and gravity act on living things and constructed devices that fly through the air. (b, c, e)