| Day 3: Glider Day Instructor: Phil Rossoni Course: Walkalong Gliders Date: June 30th, 2004 Location: Museum of Science, Boston |
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| On the third day of class there will be a full size glider assembled in the front courtyard of the museum. Students will have the opportunity to see an aircraft up close. We will learn how glider pilots use rising air currents to gain altitude without an engine. Meteorology for Soaring Flight: What different kinds of rising air do birds and glider pilots use to fly long distances without expending energy? References: Description of bird soaring flight: http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/flight-soaring-land.html Description of soaring flight in a glider: http://ssa.org/AboutGliding.asp What happens when you can't find any more rising air? Rising air is not always present. Even so, raptors use thermals and ridge lift to migrate thousands of miles every year. For humans in gliders, soaring flight is largely a sport demanding a high degree of flying skill. In the case of walkalong gliders, the lift is positioned by the pilot (pilot remotely controls glider) under the glider as the pilot follows in the glider's flight path. Reverences Note the Osprey make headway only on good soaring days: Follow Osprey Migrations via Satellite: http://www.birdsofprey.org/migration.htm Hovering Ping Pong Ball Project: Construct an apparatus to make a ping pong ball hover in mid air. How fast does a ping pong ball fall? How fast must the air be moving up to keep the ping pong ball floating? References The Science Book of Air, Neil Ardley, Gulliver Books (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) 1991, p22 Copyright Phil Rossoni, 6/3/2004 |