1. The Fly Higher Tutorial I
Aircraft in the air: How Humans Fly
Main centre picture: Airbus A350 passenger aircraft.
Left lower picture: Concorde - supersonic (faster than sound) passenger aircraft.
Right lower picture: Harrier Jump-jet - Navy fighter.
Concorde
Airbus A350
Harrier Jump-Jet

2. What do they do to get into the air?
Introduction:
The Birds & the Bees
If you look around in nature, you can see all sorts of flying creatures, blessed with a natural capacity to fly.
Can you name some?
What do they do to get into the air?
Use this slide as a backdrop to asking the class to name some living creatures that fly, and what they have in common. (Wings, and limited weight)
And some counter-examples! Many insects do not fly; nor do all birds. Mammals (such as ourselves) generally do not. Check the Teachers’ Guide for more detail.
Most animals cannot fly – what factors prevent them?

3. ? Introduction: The Birds & the Bees
If you look around in nature, you can see all sorts of flying animals and insects, what do they do to get into the air?
The birds & Insects all have WINGS that FLAP!
But in humans’ quest for flight, this idea simply did NOT work for us!
Please watch video 1
Man´s Early Flight Attempts
Source YouTube Video Mrfrankfranktube
Edition Fly Higher
In nature we see birds and flying insects have wings rather than arms and apply a flapping motion in order to gain flight into the air. Their bodies are also very light – unlike most animals and, of course, humans
Show Video Man’s Early Flight Attempts (duration 1m 02s) and ‘demonstrate’ how man’s attempts at copying this have never gone well.
The class might be invited to investigate this further; there are significant number of videos such as these on YouTube – some end tragically. ?

4. If flapping does not work, what does?
Introduction:
The Birds & the Bees
If flapping does not work, what does?
Please watch video 2 Amazing Bird – in slow motion
Source YouTube Video myvideohole
Edition Fly Higher
1) Begin by getting the students to think about how people have actually “flown” in the air (safely!)
2) Click on the link in Red outlined box, it shows a 5:34 silent video of a bird flapping in slow motion, which you can cut short as you need.
3) Whilst the video plays, undertake a brainstorming activity around question asked on the slide, and then have the class share their ideas.
As you watch the above video, think of as many ways that you can by which humans get into the air (safely!).
We cannot do that naturally, so what devices do we use to help us?

5. Early Attempts: Balloons & Sheep!
In September 1783, the Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon was flown with the first living creature in a basket below the balloon.
The animal was a sheep
… called Montauciel !
Soon after, balloon trips around Paris were all the fashion with wealthy people!
After the brainstorming, point out that balloons were the earliest flying machines – nothing like the flapping motions of birds. However, where the balloons drifted depended upon the wind and, at this time, were simply not controllable.
Ask the students if they know exactly what a hot air balloon is and if they have ever been in one? How is the flight achieved?
3) Older, more able classes may know about hydrogen balloons, airships and the Hindenberg disaster

6. NO! Flapping did not go well for human flight!
Early Attempts:
Getting into a flap
NO! Flapping did not go well for human flight!
… So, if imitating birds and insects is not the way for humans to fly, what is?
Please watch video 3 Man´s Early Flight Attempts 2
Source YouTube Video Mrfrankfranktube
Edition Fly Higher
OPTIONAL SLIDE- For shorter lessons, skip this one.
Click on the video in red box again; it is fairly short 0:37. This shows a few more old attempts with varied success and types of flying machines; men were beginning to push their thinking beyond the ‘flapping’ idea.

7. Human’s had finally achieved powered flight!
The “Wright” way to go!
After all these different ideas and attempts to gain flight into the air, on the 17th of December 1903, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright flew 40 metres with a powered aircraft! They called her “Kitty Hawk”.
Human’s had finally achieved powered flight!
Please watch video 4 The Wright way to go
Source YouTube Video Channel canyouthink
Edition Fly Higher
Given the many different failed (and sometimes fatal) attempts, the first safe, controlled machine based flight was a momentous achievement
Stress that credit for this is given to the Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, and their ‘flying machine’, Kitty Hawk.
Play video of first flight (0:33). It is a silent movie (Aside: The first “talkie” film with sound was still 26 years in the future).
The brothers, Orville and Wilbur, were actually in the bicycle business in North Carolina in America, but became obsessed with achieving flight.
Their most important realisation was that wings did not have to flap to give the ‘plane its lift – they needed to be rigid but a particular shape and pushed, by some kind of engine, through the air at high speed. Modern aircraft work on these exact same principles

8. Facts & Figures:
The Airbus A380
The largest passenger plane, the European Airbus A380, has a wingspan twice as long as the Wright brothers’ first flight!
Look how far we have come, in just 110 years! We will now focus on modern up-to-date aircraft. The European Airbus is just an example

9. Facts & Figures: A380: Stats & Figures
The Lockheed-Martin Blackbird (which is a spy aircraft) can fly at 2,145 Mph or 3,452 km/h. This is 36 times faster than a car on the motorway or over three times faster than the speed of sound!
The American Saturn 5 rocket, which took men to the moon, is over 110 metres tall, that is nearly 10 buses high; it weighs 2,800,000 Kg and went just under 25,000 mph or 40,000 km/h, once in space. This is equal 36 x faster than a bullet travels!

10. Facts & Figures: Going around the world!
The Boeing 737, the world’s most popular passenger aircraft, has flown more than billion miles - equivalent to nearly 600 round trips from the earth to the sun!
Boeing is the largest manufacturer of aircraft in the world. Probably, their “Jumbo Jet” (actually the 747, not this smaller version the 737) is the most famous.

11. Facts & Figures: People in Aviation
In 2011 the following figures were published about general aviation:
Over 2.8 billion passengers were carried by the world's airlines. This is around 40% of the world’s entire human population!
8.4 million people work directly in the aviation industry throughout the world. This is equal to the entire population of Austria!
OPTIONAL SLIDE: Estimates vary, but the human population of the Earth is estimated at around 6bn. So not far short of half of us travelled somewhere on an aircraft in Though, obviously, some people travel over and over again.
OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: If time allows you might want the class to discuss who would make most use of air travel, and what jobs there are in the industry to make it possible. Alternatively you might set this task as an out of class activity (for homework) or use it as an introductory ‘starter’ activity for lesson 2.

12. What keeps aeroplanes in the air?
OK! BUT….
What keeps aeroplanes in the air?
Is it magic….or nice, gentle fairies?
Take a look at this:
Please watch video 5 The Forces of an Airplane
Source YouTube Video Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT and K12 videos
Edition Fly Higher
1)Note that it is the work of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the United States most respected Universities.
2) Play the video in full. 3:32. (You may also wish to point out they use the American English “Airplane” not the European English word “Aeroplane”)

13. In the air: The 4 forces at work Lift Drag Thrust Weight
Generated by air pressure over the wings
Drag
Thrust
Caused by air resistance as the plane moves forward through the air
Generated from the engines on the wings
This slide which can be used after the main task to summarise
Weight
All fuel, cargo, passengers plus the plane itself

14. Please watch video 6 Farnborough Airshow 2012
The Modern Plane:
All types still work on these principles
Today we see a huge amount of varied aircraft flying and carrying people all over the world ...
Please watch video 6 Farnborough Airshow 2012
Edition Fly Higher
End video (1:00) – taken from the Farnborough Airshow 2012, the most important airshow in the United Kingdom.
Aeroplanes are used to carry all sorts of things – not just passengers. The cargo transport and military applications are also very important.
The helicopter is rather different from a two-winged aircraft – but its rotor blades achieve lift in much the same way as the aircraft’s wings. Helicopters will feature in another tutorial.