Lesson Essential Questions
1. How does an airplane fly and what forces act on it in steady state unaccelerated flight?
2. What information is provided by the six primary flight instruments and how does this information help the pilot maneuver the plane?
GSRA cadets are continuing their study of survival and aviation; with our Aviation Challenge field trip just around the corner, we focused almost exclusively on flight this past week. Our first topic was aerodynamics, and we spent a good deal of time discussing how both Newton's and Bernoulli's theories are used to explain how a wing generates lift and thus allows a plane to fly. Following that discussion we looked at the four forces that act on an airplane: lift, weight, thrust, and drag. Although the relationship among these forces is relatively simple in steady state unaccelerated flight, it can become more complex as the airplane turns or accelerates. To help make these concepts more hands-on and give students the opportunity to begin experimenting with Newton's Laws and the four forces, we started building GH-1 hovercrafts. Cadets are enjoying the challenge of building the hovercrafts and will be working with them for several class periods once they are constructed.
Following our discussion of aerodynamics and forces of flight, we began exploring the primary six flight instruments: airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, turn coordinator and inclinometer, directional gyro, and vertical speed indicator (VSI). Cadets learned how each instrument works and the vital information it provides to the pilot.
They then constructed their own instrument flight panel and used deductive thinking skills to determine how each instrument would change as an aircraft completed various maneuvers. Using Microsoft Flight Simulator, cadets were able to view an airplane from an outside perspective as it climbed, descended, or turned. Then, they made adjustments to their instrument panel to represent what the pilot would see on his or her instruments; finally, the simulator view was changed to a cockpit view so that students could verify their answers and assess whether or not their deductive thinking had been accurate. This was a lot of fun and really helped the cadets understand how to read the instrument gauges. I can't wait to see them fly at Aviation Challenge! Pictures are posted below of some of our classroom activities.
