Up up and awaySoar like a bird in a 21st century version of the Wright brothers’groundbreaking invention, so many believed wouldn’t flyWE take the sight of planes crisscrossingthe sky for granted, but it is only a recentphenomenon in human history. For thou-sands of years, only birds took wing andall man could do was dream of one daytaking to the skies.

Attempts to flyFrom early humans flapping their armsto mimic the flight mechanics of birds, tothe Chinese discovery of kites in 400BC,to Leonardo da Vinci’s designs for anornithopter during the 1500s, to theMontgolfier brothers’ historic hot airballoon flight in 1783, to the many diffe-rent versions of gliders, the foundationsflight were being laid.For a feasible flying machine to becreated the science of flying had to beunderstood. After constructing and test-ing a wide variety of flying machines, in1903 the first successful, powered, pilotedflight in history was achieved by theWright brothers. Humankind was nowable to fly and there was no stopping thedevelopment of aviation.

Forces that act upon planesHave you ever seen the wind pick up aleaf or feather and carry it through theair? Planes have engines that make theirown wind so they can fly. As the enginespush the plane forward, this movementcreates air flow moving over and underthe wings.The wings on a plane are a specialshape – curved on top and flatterunderneath. The shape of the

wings makes the air flow faster over thetop of the wing.The faster the air moves, the lighterthe air pressure.Planes and other aircraft that travelin straight level flight have four forcesthat affect them: drag, gravity, thrustand lift.● Drag: air resistance at the back of theplane that slows forward movement.● Thrust: force that moves a planeforward through the air. Thrust is creat-ed by a propeller or a jet engine.● Gravity: pulls all objects towardsEarth.● Lift is the force created by the move-ment of air above and below a wing.Gravity is the opposite of lift, anddrag is the opposite of thrust. When allfour forces are in balance the planeremains level.When one or more of these four forc-es change, the plane changes its height,direction or speed.

AUSSIES IN THE AIRIn terms of air distance and prominentaviation pioneers, Australia has led theway in aviation. The vast size of ourcountry meant pioneers developedmanned and powered flightestablishing passenger and cargotransport, airmail, medical, as well assearch and rescue services.Lawrence Hargrave paved the way withhis box-kite.

HAVE you ever come across a word inthe newspaper that you haven’t seenbefore or don’t know what it means?This week’s word is THROTTLE

Definition: device that controls thequantity of fuel or fuel and airmixture entering an engine (if aperson or a machine is at full throttle,they are doing something as well andwith as much energy as they can)

What’s Online:Visit: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Dl29vamagwww.youtube.com/watch?v=q3beVhDiyiowww.youtube.com/watch?v=gN-ZktmjIfE

WORDY NEWS

NEXTWEEK’STOPIC:

School’s Out ForSummer

NEXTWEEK’STOPIC:

School’s Out ForSummer

CHECK ITOUT

CHECK ITOUT

Which TV sci-fi seriesspecial 50th anniversary

show set a new world record afterbeing broadcast in 94 countries ?

1

QUIZ TIMEEach week we willtest your knowledgeon what’s beenhappening in thenews. For theanswers visit NiE

online.

QUIZ TIMEEach week we willtest your knowledgeon what’s beenhappening in thenews. For theanswers visit NiE

online.

Which Hollywood superstarand her six children are

believed to have taken upresidence in Sydney while shefilms the movie Unbroken?

3

Who won the Rugby LeagueWorld Cup final between

Australia and New Zealand?

2

Make a Flying MachineYou will need: 1 plastic straw;cardboard; scissors; tapeWhat to do:1. Cut cardboard into two strips. One2.5cm wide and 30cm long and one2.5cm x 13cm.2. Overlap the ends of each strip by2cm and tape together to make twoloops – one big, one small.3. Set the straw inside the smallerloop so that the end sticks outside theloop. Tape the straw inside.4. Tape the other end of the straw tothe inside of the large loop, makingsure the straw is set evenly so theflying machine is balanced.5. To fly your machine hold it betweenyour thumb and forefinger and toss itin the air at an upward angle.

News in the SpotlightAnother Aussie recordAn Australian pilot has broken therecord for the youngest person to fly asingle-engine aircraft solo around theworld. When 19-year-old RyanCampbell (pictured below) landed hisplane The Spirit of the Sapphire Coastin Wollongong on September 7 hecompleted an epic feat that saw himrewrite the record books.Seventy days after setting off on his

journey, the teenager arrived back inAustralia having taken a route overdeserts, glaciers, oceans andvolcanoes.Piloting a specially-modified

single-engine Cirrus SR22, Campbellmade 34 stops in 15 countries andspent 200 hours in the air. Campbellfollows in the slipstream of CharlesKingsford Smith, and Bert Hinkler.

PHOTO:AAP

User: Paul.Stuart Time: 12-04-2013 13:33 Product: SSH PubDate: 03-12-2013 Zone: All Edition: Main Page: SHARED_14 Color: CMYK