Flights of Inspiration

“Look… up in the sky… it’s a bird… no, it’s a plane… no, it’s…well, yes it is a plane”.

Today’s FamSite looks at the magic of flight, but not from the dry old historical perspective, but from a unique point of view. This well designed site looks at the first manned flight of Orville and Wilbur Wright, as well as the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1919. There is a chance for you to design your own model aircraft, using the same challenges that the first flight pioneers faced. There are some excellent teaching materials available on line, for both students and teachers. The emphasis here is not only the physics of flight, but also the human side. For example, why did these planes look the way they looked, and why did Orville fly first instead of Wilbur? These and other concepts are discussed.

This is a most interesting site. It is a great place for both kids and adults, and shows the promise of the Internet as a teaching tool. Enjoy you stop.

http://www.fi.edu/flights/