"High Flying Design" at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Defying gravity?  Is this even possible?  Planes fly.  But how do they stay in the air despite the law of gravity pulling them down?

PDS fifth graders got a first-hand look at the physics behind flight at a workshop called “High Flying Design” at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.  An Intrepid Educator gave the class an opportunity to explore the four elements of flight in action—drag (going backward), thrust (going forward), lift (going up) and gravity (pulling down).

 Working in groups using a balloon, pencils, paper and a straw, each group experimented with different ways to show how the elements of flight work.  They inflated their balloons and let them fly to show thrust.  They could hold them back with the string, showing drag.  When they blew through a straw they got the piece of paper to elevate, showing lift.  Any time something fell to the ground it was gravity that pulled it down.    

 The students took a guided tour of the Flight Deck where they saw the giant hooks that come out of the floor to catch the planes as they land so they can come to a stop.  They walked through the narrow rooms and corridors of the submarine, “The Growler” and were amazed by how small and confined it all seemed. 

 One fascinating highlight of the trip was the secret reconnaissance aircraft called “The Blackbird”, the fastest plane ever build.  It could lift off the Intrepid in less than two seconds, reach New Jersey three seconds later and make the usual five hour flight to California in 64 minutes.