PowerPoint Presentation

Flying Machines!

What do you think you need to think about when designing something you want to fly through the air?

Leonardo Da Vinci was the first man to think about allowing humans to fly like animals could.

He designed parachutes and tried to make flying machines similar to the birds he studied.

He thought that if he could make wings flap, they would keep the machine in the air.

He designed a human-powered ornithopter (a wing-flapping device) but it did not work for him.

People testing his experiments later realised it worked ok on small planes with low flying speeds, but it was hard to power such great long wings with just a persons strength.

It was his ideas that led people to design machines that could fly:

George Cayley discovered it worked better if the wings did not flap but were straight and pulled tightly.

He also raised them up high above the pilots seat to make it more balanced.

The Wright brothers created propellers for pulling in the air and pulling the plane forward.

They also discovered that curved wings make the plane move faster.

Watch this video to see these planes in action!

Things to think about when designing a flying machine:

Curved surface of wing gives plane the ability to lift up

Weight of the plane

The shape of the plane needs to be able to slice through the air a narrow front, and a body as smooth as possible

Seat for a pilot: near the middle of the plane for balance. What would happen otherwise?

Finally, the only power that a wing needs is to be moved forward through the air.

Glider: pushed or brought somewhere high up and dropped.

Powered airplane: Engines either push or pull the wings through the air.

Design a plane that will fly by man power or by gliding through the air.

Think carefully about the materials you use and how heavy it is.

Think about which materials are better for wings/the body etc.

Be creative, but remember that you can only use lollypop sticks, paper, matchsticks, Sellotape, Pritt stick, crepe paper and elastic bands! Keep it simple!