 Introduction to aircrafts

 Relationship between flying animals and aircrafts

 Basic principles of flight and demonstrations
 Drone Technology
 Applied system thinking
 Basic projects with Tello drones.
 Flight class.
 Assessment

Lesson 1: What are Aircrafts?

Suggested Time: 50 minutes
Can be extended to 90 minutes or a two-part lesson if necessary. Review the Optional Multimedia
Resources for additional experiments and other material. Mathematical exercises can also be
added for high school students.

Overview
Students will learn about the basic parts of an aircraft and examine some case studies of basic
in terminologies.

Objectives

 Students will learn about aircraft systems.

 Students will explore many advantages of aircraft systems.

Required Project Materials

 Computer with live internet for class demonstrations
 Dummy aircrafts explanations.

Question and answers Section.

Lesson 2: The Relationship between flying animals and
aircrafts.
Suggested Time: 50 minutes
Can be extended to 90 minutes or a two-part lesson if necessary. If lesson is extended, consider
adding a model-building exercise to Part 2 of the lesson. Mathematical exercises can also be added
for high school students.

Overview
Students will learn about aerodynamics by looking at shapes and forms found in nature. They
will learn the differences between monoplanes and biplanes and compare engineered flight
models with those found among flying organisms like birds, bats, and dinosaurs.

Objectives
 Students will learn about the differences between monoplane and biplane designs in
aviation.
 Students will learn how wing shape and design correlates with evolutionary
adaptations in nature and compare this with evolutionary adaptations in engineering.

Required Project Materials

 Computer with live internet for class demonstrations

 Dummy aircrafts explanations.

Before the Lesson/ Background Information

• Print out copies of the National Geographic and Nature News articles (provided), the
dinosaur that flew like a biplane.

• Print out the NASA “Airplane Geometry handout” (provided) for use during class.

The Lesson

Part 1: Comparing Wings (20 mins)

1. With the class watch the interactive gallery animation, “How do Birds Fly?” Then
announce to the group that species fly differently, and have different wing shapes,
based on how they’ve adapted to their environments. Some are specialized for
gliding, some only use flight to get away from predators, and some even use their
wings to swim.
2. Separate the students into groups of two to four at a computer lab. Each group will
conduct research on a different winged animal. Assign or allow groups to choose
from the following animals (you can add more to this list if necessary):
  Flying squirrel
 Bat
 Albatross
 Hummingbird
 Swallow
 Goose
 Flying Fish
 Cormorant
 Pelican
 Chicken
 Eagle
 Penguin
 Ostrich

3. Each
• Can the animal fly? If so:

group will research their animal and work to find out the following questions:

 Does it fly on a regular basis, or for specific reasons?

 How does it fly?
 How fast can it fly?
 How far can it fly?
 What is its wing shape? How does the shape affect the way the animal flies?
 How does the animal obtain “liftoff”?

 If the animal can’t fly:

 Why does it have wings?
 What does it use its wings for?
 What is its wing shape?
 What is the animal’s habitat (in other words, where does it live)?
 What does the animal eat and how does it obtain food?

4. Have each group put together a sketch of their animal with a diagram of its wings and
the

different kinds of feathers or parts. They should also diagram the geometry of the
wings,

using the “Wing Geometry” handout for comparison.

5. Have each group present to the rest of the class for one to two minutes about their
animal.
6. Discuss with the class what they learned about different types of flight and wing
structures found in nature.

Question and answers Section.

Lesson 3: Basic principle of flight and demonstrations.
Suggested Time: 50 minutes
Can be extended to 90 minutes or a two-part lesson if necessary. Review the Optional Multimedia
Resources for additional experiments and other material. Mathematical exercises can also be
added for high school students.

Overview
Students will learn about the basic principles that guides flight and understand the dynamics
of flight of aircrafts with demonstration.

Objectives
 Students will learn about principles of flight.
 Students will explore the dynamics of flight..

Required Project Materials

 Computer with live internet for class demonstrations

 Dummy aircrafts explanations.

Question and answers Section.

Lesson 4: Drone Technology.
Suggested Time: 60 minutes
Can be extended to 120 minutes or a two-part lesson if necessary. Review the Optional Multimedia
Resources for additional experiments and other material. Mathematical exercises can also be
added for high school students.

Overview
Students will learn about the basic parts of a flying drone (or unmanned aerial vehicle) and
examine some case studies of it uses.

Objectives
 Students will learn about unmanned vehicles and their basic engineering.
 Students will explore the many uses being developed for drones in fields such as
science.

Required Project Materials

 Computer with live internet for class demonstrations

Multimedia Resources

 “Drone Club for Kids is Really, Really Awesome.” Popular Science. Article and
videos http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-09/drone-club-kids-autism-
makes- awesome-videos
 “A Drone’s-Eye View of Conservation” by Lian Pin Koh. TED Talks. Video (13.31)
provided and also available at http://www.ted.com/talks/
lian_pin_koh_a_drone_s_eye_view_of_conservation.html

Question and answers Section.

Lesson 5: Applied system thinking.
Suggested Time: 60 minutes
Can be extended to 120 minutes or a two-part lesson if necessary. Review the Optional Multimedia
Resources for additional experiments and other material. Mathematical exercises can also be
added for high school students.

Overview
Students will be engaged in creative thinking and development skills for applying the latest
technologies in drone robotics with relation to mathematical expressions and quantitative
reasoning.

Objectives
 Students will engage themselves in groups to be able to tackle basic computing
problems relating to the field.
 Students will explore their level of understanding through practical representations
and proffering basic ideas.

Required Project Materials

 Computer with live internet for class demonstrations.
 PowerPoint materials to engage in visual infographics.

Multimedia Resources
 “Drone Club for Kids is Really, Really Awesome.” Popular Science. Article and
videos http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-09/drone-club-kids-autism-
makes- awesome-videos

Question and answers Section.

Lesson 6: Basic Projects with Tello Drones.
Suggested Time: 120 minutes

Overview
Students will be engaged in a well-structured practical class for drone flight with the help of
Tello drones for kids and the scratch software.

Objectives

 Students will engage themselves with practical knowledge of how the drones actually
behave during a flight configuration.
 Students should have a full understanding of aircrafts during flight at a micro-scale
using a confined area of space available.

Required Project Materials

 Tello drones and scratch materials.
 Confined space in the school to set-up flight arena.

Multimedia Resources

 “Drone Club for Kids is Really, Really Awesome.” Popular Science. Article and
videos http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-09/drone-club-kids-autism-
makes- awesome-videos

Question and answers Section

Lesson 7: Flight Class.
Suggested Time: 120 minutes

Overview

Students will be engaged in a well-structured practical class for drone flight with the help of
Tello drones for kids and the scratch software.

Students would be given the opportunity to observe the Drones flight at a larger scale with a
drone pilot at an open field.

Objectives

 Students will engage themselves with practical knowledge of how the drones actually
behave during a flight configuration.
 Students should have a full understanding of aircrafts during flight at a micro-scale
using a confined area of space available.

Required Project Materials

 Tello drones and scratch materials.
 Confined space in the school to set-up flight arena.
 Dji Drone for flight.

Multimedia Resources

 “Drone Club for Kids is Really, Really Awesome.” Popular Science. Article and
videos http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-09/drone-club-kids-autism-
makes- awesome-videos

Question and answers Section

Lesson 8: Assessment.
Suggested Time: 120 minutes (Can be extended)

Overview

Students would be examined on the level of understanding gained from the teachings and
practical class using an assessment software. They would be awarded points and rewarded
according to their performance.

Objectives

 Students will be tested on how well they understood the content of the lectures with
selected questions from each lesson taken.
 Students would be rewarded according to their performance on the test and be
encouraged as potential pilots and engineers.

Required Project Materials

 Assessment software (VCE Exam Simulator).

Question and answers Section