MATH: Return to Top Grade Level:Beginning JET ENGINES: There are 4 engines on a 747 jet airliner. If there are 5 of them in the hanger, how many engines are there altogether? (You can vary the problem by changing the number of planes there are in the hanger.) JET PROPULSION: The basic principle of propulsion is simple. It is what happens when you let go of a partly inflated balloon. It 'flies' as long as air rushes out of it. If the students let go of 3 inflated balloons on Monday, 2 on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday, 5 on Thursday, and 7 on Friday; how many balloons would be let go for the entire week? (You can extend this problem to accommodate ability levels, and also make subtraction problems with the basic daily balloon releases.) Grade Level: Intermediate IN SECONDS IN THE AIR: In about 10 seconds, the 747 jet airliner is already a thousand feet above the ground. Most 747's airliners fly at about 35,000 feet. If a 747 levels off at 35,000 feet, how many seconds will it take before it levels off? HORSEPOWER: In the 4 engines of a 747 jet airliner there is about 500,000 horsepower. If there are five 747 jet airliners, how much horsepower would be represented? AIR TRAVEL: It takes a 747 jet airliner 5 1/2 hours to fly from Los Angeles to New York and 6 hours to return to Los Angeles. The tail winds make the difference in the times. What would be the difference in percentage between the two flight times? Grade Level: Advanced COMPARING POWER: When comparing the horsepower of different engines, the following measurements can be taken. A lawn mower has 5 HP (horsepower), and Indy race car has 750 HP, a locomotive has 40,000 HP and a 747 jet has 500,000 HP. What is the difference in the HP between the race car and the locomotive, between the locomotive and the 747 jet, and between the 747 jet and the Indy race car. As extension have the students figure out the differences in percentages. SCRAMJET: The scramjet is a modified version of the fastest jet engine. This engine is designed to operate at hypersonic speeds (above Mach 6). In theory, the scramjets burning hydrogen fuel should be able to produce aircraft speeds up to Mach 25. The speed necessary for earth orbit, Mach 26, is thought possible. Figure out the accelleration necessary to reach Mach 26 in 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes. (The speed of sound, also known as Mach 1, depends on the temperature. At 0 degree C (or 32 degree F). The speed of sound is about 740 miles per hour. As the temperature changes, however, so does the speed of sound. A convenient formula is: Speed of sound = 740 mi./hr. + (1.3)(temperature in degrees C). LANGUAGE ARTS: Return to Top Grade Level:Beginning PILOT PLEASE: As a class pretend that you will be a pilot for a day on the Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Together write a description of the experience as the pilot. (Words to help with the assignment: jet engine, cockpit controls, flaps, and primary flight display.) SAVING LIVES: Commercial airlines have the highest possible safety standards. Together as a class write a poem about "Safety in the Air". Also, have the students draw a picture to go along with the poem that you create together. CARRIER MAIL SERVICE: Letters and packages are carried around the world by airlines that are private contractors hired by the U.S. Post Office. Pretend that a mouse, named Hobbs can read and write and that he rides on one of these planes. Write a short story together as a class about his adventures flying from one destination to another and how he loves to open and read the mail and write new letters to put into the envelopes. Grade Level: Intermediate 200 MAJOR AIRLINES: There are about 200 major airlines and they carry more than 800 million passengers every year. Create a new airlines in your imaginations and write a description together of the advantages of your airlines. (Include such things as fuel economy, quietness, automation, safety features, increased reliability, less noise and pollution, better passenger comfort, more navigational aids and less room for pilot error.) FLYING BOATS: Pan American Airways developed "Flying Boats" that took off and landed on large bodies of water. These were very popular during the 1930's. Have the students write an imaginary description of one of these "Flying Boats". After the descriptions are written individually, have the students read them to the rest of the class. Grade Level: Advanced THE JET AGE: During the late 1940's airline engineers worked to improve on the crude jet engines built during World War II. This lead to the world's first large commercial jet airliner. In April 1953 scheduled flights were begun from London to Tokyo using jet transportation. The flight distance was 10,200 miles with a flying time of 36 hours. Have the students write individual poems about this era of flight. WORD USAGE: Using the following words from aviation, have the students create a whimsical tale about a talking airplane. Accelerometer - a measuring device that detects changes in a plane's flight path. Angle of Attack - the angle at which the wings meet the relative wind. Autopilot - a computer capable of flying a plane. Barometric Altitude - a plane's height above sea level. Cockpit Voice Recorder - the 'black box' that records everything said in the cockpit. Dead Dog Switch - the switch that turns on heat in the cargo hold. Flaps - control surfaces on a plane's wings used in takeoff and landing. Jet propulsion engine - the type of engine used in planes. Relative Wind - the speed of the air flowing past a plane's wings. THE TAKEOFF RUN: A 747 airline pilot views the runway from the height of a bedroom window in a three-story house. Have the students write an imaginary story about a three-story house that has a jet propulsion engine that can fly. SOCIAL STUDIES: Return to Top Grade Level:Beginning JUPITER C: This is the name of the rocket that launched the United State's first satellite, Explorer 1 on January 31, 1958. As a class go to the library and do a study on this rocket. After gathering the information write a class paper together on your findings. SIR ISAAC NEWTON: Sir Isaac Newton was the gentleman who discovered the Third Law of Motion which is the basis for propulsion. As a class do a short paper on this gentleman and his discoveries. THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE: By 1918 the United States Post Office had established an airmail service that ran between New York and Washington. As a class do a study about this service. (Contact your local post office for information about this service.) Grade Level: Intermediate IMPROVEMENTS IN AIRPLANE ENGINES: In the late 1940's airline engineers were working to improve on the crude jet engines that had been developed in the 1930's. As a class do a study on these improvements of jet engines. (Contact the airlines of your choice and ask for information on their contributions in this field.) THE KELLY AIR MAIL ACT OF 1925: As a class go to the library and look up information on the Kelly Air Mail Act of 1925. Together as a class do a research paper on your findings. Grade Level: Intermediate/Advanced THE APOLLO MISSION: Have the students do a study on the Apollo Mission that landed men on the moon. Include in the research information on the rockets that were used in the mission, where the Apollo was launched, where it landed after it completed its mission to the moon, and who were the astronauts that rode on the mission. ROBERT H. GODDARD: Robert H. Goddard is the American rocket pioneer who invented the liquid-propellant rocket. As a class do research on this gentleman and then write up a paper on the information that you gather. Grade Level: Advanced WERNER von BRAUN: Werner von Braun was the German-American rocket pioneer and leader in the development of the Saturn V rocket. As a class do a research paper on this gentleman. FREEDOM 7: Freedom 7 is the name of the Mercury spacecraft that Alan Shepard rode for his historic suborbital flight on May 5, 1961. Do a paper on his flight and the significance it has in our progression of spaceflight. MERCURY: This is the name of the project that orbited astronauts above the earth. Have the students do a study on this orbit and who the astronauts were that rode on this rocket. VISUAL/PERFORMING ARTS: Return to Top Grade Level:Beginning AIRPLANE PUPPETS: Using small white paper bags, have the children make airplane puppets. Hand out construction paper, marking pens, scissors, and glue to the class and ask them to draw large airplanes to cut out, color, and glue on the white paperbags. Then have the students create a story about airplanes using the puppets. WAXED PAPER COLLAGE: Have students draw an airplane on a piece of paper and have them cut it out. Then you cut the shape of the airplane the children drew out of tissue paper for them. Have the children place the tissue paper airplane on a piece of wax paper 10 inches by 12 inches. Ask the children to add tiny pieces of different colored tissue paper around their tissue airplane. Lastly, place a 10 inch by 12 inch wax paper on top of the children's tissue collage and iron together with a warmed iron for them. PRETEND AIRPLANES WITH ENGINES: Ask each of the students to bring a queen sized sheet from home. Have the children put the sheet around their shoulders and down their arms to their hands to make the wings of the airplane. Have them hold onto the sheet with their two hands. Take a large safety pin and secure the middle of the sheet on each of the children's back to their shirt. Move the desks to the side of the room to make a "runway" and have the students pretend that they are airplanes taking off down the runway making engine noises and sounds. Grade Level: Intermediate PROPULSION POWER:: Have the students write an acronym poem using the letters: Propulsion Power. Ask the students to write each letter of the two words along the left side of their paper from top to bottom, one letter on each line. The first word of the poem on each line will begin with the letter that has been already written on that line. The finished poem will spell the words "Propulsion Power" along the left side from top to bottom. Grade Level: Intermediate/Advanced IMAGINARY ROCKET ENGINE: Ask the students to use their imaginations and design a new "imaginary" rocket engine incorporating a jet propulsion engine or variation. Provide pictures of different types of propulsion engine to stimulate the student's thinking. The various engines are: turboprop, turbine, turbojet, turbofan, ramjet, and scramjet. Provide artist supplies for the drawings. BUILDING THE PERFECT BEAST: Over 75,000 engineering drawings and more than 12,000 hours of wind tunnel tests went into the design of the first 747 airliner. An entirely new engine had to be developed to power the largest plane the world had ever seen. Pretend that you are an engineer on a new project similar to the 747 airliner. Make drawings of a new design for a new "Beast" that will fly faster than the 747 using more powerful engines. The present 747 has four engines. Maybe your new airliner will have 6 engines! Grade Level: Advanced NEWTON'S THIRD LAW OF MOTION: Review with the students the principles of the Third Law of Motion. Ask the students to illustrate the Third Law of Motion in relationship to propulsion. Provide artist materials for the students. SPACE SHUTTLE PICTURE: To return from space, the action - reaction principle is also used by the Space Shuttle orbiter. A spacecraft is traveling at the right velocity in orbit so that the curvature of the path in which it is falling matches the curvature of the earth. When the spacecraft slows down slightly the path it follows changes to a long arc ending at the earth's surface. Have the students draw a picture of the return from space of the Space Shuttle. Supply artist supplies. ORBITER CREW: Have the students create a scene that could take place on the Space Shuttle and write a script for each member of the crew. Tell the students that they can combine an imaginary event, along with a true one to create the script. Some ideas would be a trip to Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn along with encounters with aliens from other galaxies. Ask the students to put on their scene after they have finished writing it. They can bring in clothes and items from home to use as costumes. LITERATURE LINKS: Return to Top Rocket Science Author: Jim Wiese Publisher: New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995 Grade Level: K - 6 Synopsis: This is a wonderful book which contains 50 flying, floating, flipping, spinning gadgets that students can create themselves to learn more about aeronautics and related subjects. It is illustrated with black and white pen drawings. How to Fly a 747 Author: Tim Paulson Publisher: New Mexico: John Muir Publications, 1992 Grade Level: 2 - 5 Synopsis: This is a fun book about being placed in the pilot's seat of a 747 airliner and how to put the plane through its paces. Within the text the student will learn scientific facts and principles. The book is full of colorful photographs and illustrations that accompany the text. The Glorious Flight Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot Author: Alice and Martin Provensen Publisher: Puffin: 1987 Grade Level: 3 - 6 Synopsis: This is a humorous story describing Louis Bleriot's persistence in developing seven airplanes before he became the first man to fly across the English Channel. It is well illustrated. Flight: Fliers and Flying Machines Author: David Jeffries Publisher: New York: Franklin Watts, 1991 Grade Level: 3 - 7 Synopsis: This book explores the history of flights. It covers the dreams of flying in ancient Greece to today's high-tech war planes. There is a chapter on planes being designed for the future to be ecological fuel savers. There are magnificent illustrations and a text that has been carefully researched. The ABC National Air and Space Museum Author: Florence Cassen Mayers Publisher: Harry Abrams: 1979 Grade Level: 3 - 12 Synopsis: This book is filled with color aviation photographs from early aviation to space-age technology using the letters of the alphabet. The narrations that accompany each photograph are sophisticated. The History of Aircraft Author: Chris Maynard Publisher: New York: Franklin Watts, 1982 Grade Level: 4 - 8 Synopsis: This book of history about aircraft traces the history of manned flight from the first attempts to the present. The Smithsonian Book of Flight for Young People Author: Walter J. Boyne Publisher: New York: Atheneum, 1988 Grade Level: 4 - 8 Synopsis: This is a well illustrated book with clear text and photographs that presents the history of aviation. Aircraft Author: Bill Gunston Publisher: New York: Franklin Watts, 1987 Grade Level: 4 - 12 Synopsis: This book by Bill Gunston explores the latest developments and future possibilities of aircraft technology. Gossamer Odyssey: The Triumph of Human-Powered Flight Author: Morton Grosser Publisher: Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981 Grade Level: 5 - 9 Synopsis: This book traces the human powered aviation from the early 1920's to the present. It is a remarkable engineering story with illustrations throughout the book. The Technology of Man: A Visual History Author: Derek Birdsall and Carlo M. Cipolla Publisher: New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1980 Grade Level: 5 - 12 Synopsis: This is a handsome presented record of artifacts from the most ancient pebble tools to the latest instruments of space exploration. It is well illustrated. Engines: The Search for Power Author: John Day Publisher: New York: St. Martin's, 1980 Grade Level: 5 - 12 Synopsis: This book is filled with accurate explanations of the workings of a wide range of engines, both ancient and modern. The book is illustrated throughout. Flight in America, 1900 - 1983: From the Wrights to the Astronauts Author: Roger E. Bilstein Publisher: Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984 Grade Level: 5 - 12 Synopsis: A wonderful book with a grand history that includes social, political, and economic aspects. Aviation and Space Science Projects Author: Dr. Ben Millspaugh Publisher: PA: Tab Books, 1992 Grade Level: 5 - 12 Synopsis: This is a great book filled with information and projects for young people interest in learning about aviation and spaceflight. It has black and white photographs and illustrations throughout the book. It is one the most interesting books on the subject. The New Book of Popular Science - Volume 6 Author: Deluxe Library Edition Publisher: Philippines: Grolier Incorporated, 1990 Grade Level: 6 - 9 Synopsis: This is a text that includes various science subjects from space science to environmental sciences. It is well written and includes colored photographs, illustrations, and graphs throughout the book. Science: It's Changing Your World Author: National Geographic Society Publisher: Washington, D.C. : National Geographic Society, 1985 Grade Level: 6 - 12 Synopsis: A richly illustrated book of the wonders of science and technology. Their impact on industry, food and fuel, transportation, medicine, and space are included. The Art of the Engineer Author: Ken Baynes and Francine Pugh Publisher: New York: Overlook Press, 1981 Grade Level: 6 - 12 Synopsis: This book is filled with engineering drawings demonstrating the skills of draftsmanship in a rapidly changing technological environment. The National Air and Space Museum Author: C.D. Bryan Publisher: Harry Abrams: 1988 Grade Level: 6 - 12 Synopsis: This is an in-depth presentation of flight and starts with the first attempts at flight and continues to current space flights. The pictures and illustrations are exceptional. Airliner Author: Nigel Cawthorne Publisher: London: Gloucester Press, 1988 Grade Level: 6 - 12 Synopsis: This text brings forth a problem-solving approach to the different options of aircraft development. Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventures in Space Author: Michael Collins Publisher: New York: Grove, 1988 Grade Level: 6 - 12 Synopsis: This is an informal history of the U.S. space program by one of its astronauts. It is well illustrated. Man with Wings: A Pictorial History of Aviation Author: Edward Jablonski Publisher: New York: Doubleday, 1980 Grade Level: 6 - Adult Synopsis: This is a pictorial book that is very readable that covers the history of aviation. Concorde: The Inside Story Author: Geoffrey Knight Publisher: New York: Stein & Day, 1976 Grade Level: 6 - Adult Synopsis: This is a book about the history of the development of the controversial supersonic aircraft, the Concorde. In The Cockpit: Flying the World's Great Aircraft Author: Anthony Robinson Publisher: New York: Ziff-Davis, 1980 Grade Level: 6 - Adult Synopsis: This is a fascinating anecdotal description of more than 50 military aircraft, with short essays by the fliers. It is illustrated. Jane's All the World's Aircraft Author: John W.R. Taylor Publisher: New York: McGraw-Hill, revised yearly Grade Level: 6 - Adult Synopsis: This text is filled with illustrations and with complete coverage of various aircraft, rockets, and spacecraft. The Rocket's Red Glare Author: Wernher Von Braun and Frederick I. Ordway III Publisher: New York: Anchor Doubleday, 1976 Grade Level: 6 - Adult Synopsis: This is an illustrated book that includes how rockets developed from ancient to modern times, and the different kinds of rockets that are on the horizon today. Web Hosting Provided By The National Business Aviation Association. Explore Space ... Not Drugs! Hear what astronauts have to say about staying drug-free. Last modified: Wed Feb 11 17:05:51 PST 1998 Copyright © 1997 by Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. All Rights Reserved.