FLIGHT

By Joelle Wight

From the First Flight to the Final

Frontier
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Table of
Contents

This Is Your Captain

Speaking........................................................2
Polling Some
Passengers...........................................................
.............3
Pilots
Response.............................................................
..................................4
High Flying
Facts....................................................................
........................5
2

This is your captain

A Letter from the Editor
speaking...

Dear Readers,

This is your captain and editor speaking! Id like to welcome

you aboard and let you know what to expect on our flight today.
We will begin our journey by exploring how flight works and what
some popular opinions are. Next we will look at some historically
important pilots and how they have impacted flight. Finally, we
will look to the future and see where air travel could take us!
The topic of flight has always interested me. In my opinion,
air travel is proof that with hard work and ingenuity the sky is
literally the limit. So many brave individuals have contributed to
our understanding of flight and Id like this Zine to serve as a
tribute to them and all they have accomplished. I would also like
this Zine to be a source of inspiration for the future flyers in the
world. May you take off in the pursuit of your dreams!
Researching for this project was half the fun. I used various
sources to inform this publication. I began with questions and from
there my research took off. Web research supplemented what I
had already found in books and magazines. As I researched the
science behind this topic, I began to realize that other disciplines
had a part to play and a story to tell too. Finally, I put all I had
collected together in this Zine and present it to you now.
So passengers, I hope you enjoy your flight. As always, thanks
for flying with me!
Your Pilot,

Joelle Elizabeth Virginia

Wight

Polling Some
Passengers...

When I think about flying, I think

AdventureI
about Superman...In all seriousness,
is for
outthe
dont know the technical terms
there...!
science of flight but I do know
the
-Russell
plane has to be moving fast. I know
from
Up
that once you have reached
the
appropriate speed and are in the air
the wings continue to provide lift with
the air that moves around them. I also
read somewhere that 95% of flights
are flown on autopilot.
-Matt Vangjel

I dont know, Ive never really thought about

it before. I guess when I think about flying I
think about Amelia Earhart and birds. I
suppose that Leonardo Da Vincis drawings
could have been the first suggestion for how to
achieve human flight. I do always wonder how
they pressurize the cabin in an airplane. How
do they know what our bodies can withstand?
-Jena Wight
The question for me is, is there a future for manned space
flight? Is it even possible with such great distances in between
destinations? I guess we could discover a way to increase the
speed at which we travel. Maybe with teleportation or
something. This would overcome the problems with sustaining
human life for such long periods of time. We could also
continue to explore cryogenic methods. This would allow us to
travel over great distances without requiring normal life
sustaining equipment and supplies. The possibilities are
endless. I hope mankind will never stop trying to explore
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space.
-John Wight

Pilots Response

I cant say Im surprised with how people responded to my questions about

flight. Many people admitted that they had flown but hadnt really thought
about the science behind flight. This made me think about how important it is to
ask questions about the world around us! Jena Wights response helped me
realize that past pilots have really shaped how we fly today. They played an
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important role in the science of flight
and should be recognized. I really liked
what John Wight had to say about the future of space travel. It helps me to
approach this Zine in a way that looks to future possibilities rather than just

High Flying
Facts!
People have been thinking about how to fly for
THOUSANDS of years! In the 1480s and inventor
named Leonardo da Vinci drew a blueprint for a
flying machine called the ornithopter. He never
built it but in 1932 someone did and it worked!

The first person to ever complete a transAtlantic flight solo was Charles Lindbergh.
He did so in The Spirit of Saint Louis in
1927!

Some airplanes fly as fast as 7,000 miles per

hour! The airplanes you fly in cruise at about
640 miles per hour.

How It All Works...

An in depth look into

the science it takes
to soar...
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second
thought.
Im Not
Just
Blowing
Hot Air
While you
may not
think about
it on a daily
basis, air flows all around you all
the time! It might not seem
important to you, but without it,
we could never fly. Air provides
the forces necessary to keep a
plane in the air. As an airplane
gains altitude, different forces are
impacting it. When its time to
land, air forces are again
impacting the plane. There are
four specific forces that are most
important to flying. They are:
thrust, lift, drag, and gravity. Lets
look at each one individually!

How it all works

As the engine begins to rumble and
the plane cruises toward the
runway you cant help but look out
the window at the massive wings
that will be keeping this enormous
machine airborne for the duration
of your flight. It can be a little
nerve racking but then you think
about other flights youve been on
before and remember its actually
quite relaxing. So, as the plane
picks up speed and its wheels
leave the asphalt you sit back in
your seat and get ready to enjoy
the flight. By the time your ears
start popping youve already
forgotten your worries and arent
even thinking about how
something so huge is able to fly.
However, the science behind flight
is fascinating and deserves a

A Robust Thrust
Thrust is the force that pushes an
airplane forward. Airplane blades or
propellers pull air and make it
quickly flow to the back of the
plane. This is very similar to what
happens when you swim. As you
use your hands and feet to push
water behind you, youll begin to
move forward in the pool. In order
for airplanes to move faster, their
propellers have to spin faster and
pull more air toward the back of
the plane. To better understand
how propellers work, look at a fan
in your house. Notice how the
blades of a fan are slightly curved
to scoop air. The air then flows
along the blade toward the flatter
tip. The tip then shoots the air out
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where you feel it hitting your face.

Plane propellers work essentially
the same way. Without air,
propellers could never create
thrust, and without thrust, a plane
would never move
forward.

over the curve of a wing and down,

it pulls the whole plane upward.
Slats and flaps,
appendages on plane
wings, can be
manipulated to give a
plane more or less lift. If
you want to experiment
with this phenomenon
yourself, follow the
directions for the spoon
experiment on the next
page (How Airplanes Work
by Paul R. Ohmann).

What a Drag
While plane
propellers are
working to thrust a
plane forward,
drag is pushing
against the plane in an
opposing force. Next
time youre in the car,
roll down the window and
stick your head out. Youll feel a lot
of pressure pushing
against your face. This is drag. Any
minor thing can
create more drag. This is why the
wheels of a plane are raised after
take-off. Drag isnt all bad though,
pilots use it to slow the momentum
of an airplane when you land.

Onward and Upward:

Wheels Up to Wheels
Down
During take off a plane
increases in speed to
create thrust. In order for
it to leave the ground it
needs lift. Both of these forces
work against gravity and drag to
get the plane in the air. A pilots job
when a plane is in the air is to keep
all the forces balanced by adjusting
engine speed, nose direction, and
wing position. The pilot also uses
the big fins at the back of a plane
to steer the airplane and keep it
from wobbling in midair. Different
parts of these fins are used for
different purposes. When the
elevators are adjusted the plane
goes up or down. When the rudders
change the plane moves side to
side. When its time to land, the
forces must be reversed. Drag and
gravity help bring the aircraft
safely back to earth

The Gravity of the Situation

Gravity is the force that holds us all
down here on earth. Without it,
wed all float around aimlessly!
Because of gravity, however, big
planes need big engines and wings.
The heavier something is, the more
power it needs to leave the ground.
This is why commercial airplanes
have multiple engines and huge
wings. When you fly, you are
defying gravity!
Lateral Lift
Opposing the force of gravity is the
force created by lift. Because of the
shape of airplane wings, air is able
to hold a plane up. As the air flows

I Know its Scientific, But is it

Safe?
Lots of people have a fear of flying.
With all of the media hype about
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airplane safety, it isnt hard to

understand why. Despite what
different movies and television
shows lead you to believe, flying is
actually very safe! While there are
accidents every once in a while,
commercial airplanes go through
rigorous safety checks and
procedures before they can take
off. Flight attendants at the
beginning of each flight let
passengers know what steps they
need to take to remain safe.
Airlines have special plans of action
should anything bad happen. Even
if your plane had to land in the
ocean, you would still be safe! So
next time you fly, dont worry, just
sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight!

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FamousHistorical
Flyers

11

pilots who
changed the
way we fly!

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The Wright
Brothers
On December
17, 1903, years before
you were born, two
brothers made history.
On a winter day in
Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina, Orville and
Wilbur Wright flew for
the first time. Their
flights were short,
lasting only 12 and 59
seconds
respectively,
but they had a
long lasting
impact.
Before
their flying
machines, the
Wright brothers
built many
other things.
They loved to
learn how to put
things together
and make them
work. In fact,
they loved making things so much
that they built their own printing press
and opened a bicycle shop.
While other people were
laughing at flying machines, Wilbur
and Orville were studying them in
hopes of creating their own. Wilbur
and Orville knew the importance of
communication in science. They wrote
to others who were experimenting
with flying machines and asked them
questions so that they could learn as
much as possible. They soon began
experimenting with various designs.
They first started with a kite so
that they could study how it flew and
how they could control its movements.
When that project was successful they
built a glider. A glider is a large kite
that a person can ride on. After
another successful flight on the glider,

the
brothers
returned
home
and
begin
working
on
better
wing
shapes,

propellers, and an engine for their

flying machine.
They called their new creation
The Flyer. This machine is the one
that made history on December 17th.
Even though the brothers had
accomplished their goal, they kept
working to improve on their invention.
Eventually, the pair became known as
the inventors of the airplane. Without
them, modern flight would never have
taken off.

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Amelia Earhart

On July 24, 1897,

Amelia Earhart was
born in Atchison,
Kansas. Growing up,
she loved to try new
things and was raised
to believe that she
could do

found, she is still

remembered as an
adventurer and
pioneer.

anything a boy could.

It wasnt until
many years later when
she and her father
visited an
air show in California
that Amelia knew she
wanted to be a pilot.
On May 15, 1923,
Amelia became one of
the first women to earn
a pilots license. In
1932, Amelia became
the first woman to fly
alone across the
Atlantic Ocean. Three
years later she broke
another record when
she became the first
person to fly across the
Pacific. On July 2, 1936
while on her flight
around the world,
Amelia Earhart
disappeared. Although
Amelia was never
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Neil Armstrong
On May 25, 1961, President John F.
Kennedy delivered a speech to
congress in which he declared that
the United States would safely send a
man to the moon by the end of the
decade. Sure enough, 8 years later,
America achieved the goal when Neil
Armstrong took the first steps on the
lunar surface.
Neil Armstrong was born on August 5,
1930 and grew up in Wapakoneta,
Ohio. He began flying lessons at the
age of 15! He earned a pilots license
before he could even drive.
Before he was an astronaut,
Armstrong flew in the Korean War.
When the war was over he earned an
engineering degree from Purdue
University. As a Navy test pilot he
flew high speed planes, some even
reached 4,000 miles per hour.
In 1962, Armstrong joined NASA as an
astronaut in their Gemini program. In
1966 he docked Gemini 8 with a
satellite. During this mission he
encountered some issues and the
craft begin to spin out of control.
Armstrong kept his cool and returned
the craft safely to Earth.
Three years later, on July 16, 1969,
along with Michael Collins and Buzz
Aldrin, Armstrong piloted the Apollo
11 to the Moon. The lunar lander set
down on its surface four days later.
Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the
moon and set an American flag on its
surface. Neil Armstrong was the first
ever person to walk on the moon!
Armstrong retired from NASA in 1971
but his success with Apollo 11 gave
people hope about the possibility and
future of space flight.

Traveling to Space...Laika Boss

Years before humans
entered space, one brave dog
made the voyage into the
unknown.
Laika was a stray dog
wandering the streets of Moscow.
Scientists, who wanted to test the
effects of space travel on living
creatures before sending humans
into orbit, collected her and put
her through training for her time in
space. She made a complete orbit
around the Earth in the Sputnik II
and paved the way for humans to
continue space exploration. Laika
is an unsung hero.

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Earn Your Wings!

Begin your lessons now at

The Wight Sisters School of Flight!
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Earn Your
One
small
Wings!
step...

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When man walked on the

moon in 1969 it seemed space
travel had achieved its biggest
goal and that there was little left
to accomplish. After NASAs
shuttle program came to an end in
2011, many people believed that
the United States space interests
were finished. However, as
science fiction texts and movies
remind us, there is still a lot of
unknown
explore. In a
Mission space
to thetoMoon
constantly expanding universe,
the potential
exploration
is
As the for
National
Geographic
literally
limitless.
recently reported, NASA is
So
what projects
are NASA
and
planning
more manned
missions
other
international
space
to the moon before 2020. In
modern versions of the Apollo
space crafts, four-person crews
The
International
will be
able to makeSpace
the journey
Station
in relative comfort and style.
Their mission, should they choose
Sinceit,its
1998
launch,
the
to accept
will
be to
research
International
Station
(ISS)
the surface ofSpace
the moon
in hopes
has
been
a
symbol
of
of learning more about Earths
international
cooperation.
TheIn
closest interstellar
neighbor.
space
station,
used
for
research,
addition to this research, these
transportation,
and
moon missions diplomatic
will help scientists
education
purposes,
is
in
low
learn more about the
Earth
orbit andfor
is a
proof
requirements
trip of
to the
Mars,
continued
progress
being
made
in
which is a long term goal for
space flight technology. Because
the ISS is in low Earth orbit it can
be seen by the naked human eye.
To learn when the ISS will be in
orbit above you go to
http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/sig
htings/#.VGgfDfnF-So and find

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High Flying
Reads

With beautiful illustrations

and scientific concepts
explained in understandable
terms, this book will teach
you everything you want to
know about space. This nonfiction text is a wonderful
resource if you have interest

With an intriguing mix of

primary sources and detailed
illustrations, Shelley Tanakas
Amelia Earhart: The Legend
of the Lost Aviator, offers
readers an engaging account
of Amelia Earharts life and
legacy. It even includes
suggestions for further
reading. If Amelia Earhart

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In Richard Pecks Newbery

Honor winning novel, A Long
Way from Chicago, you can
join Joey and Mary Alice
Dowdle and their eccentric
Grandmother on their
summer vacation
adventures. The historical
fiction woven with playful
prose offers an exciting
glimpse into important
moments in history. While
the novel is not strictly
about airplanes, youre sure
to find some high flying fun
within its pages! If you enjoy

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Prepare for Landing

Flying with all of you has truly been my pleasure. I

have enjoyed learning more about the science of flight. However, as

scientific inquiry often does, my exploration has left me with even
more questions.
For example, Im left wondering about how birds flight compares
with our technologically produced flight. Did early engineers study bird
flight in order to design working aircrafts? Do the same scientific forces
that keep planes in the air impact birds?
I am really interested in flight phenomena like the Bermuda
Triangle and the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and her plane. I am
fascinated by the continual development of flight technology, like the
kind of research speculated to be done at Area 51. I am even more
interested in what NASA and other space organizations are planning for
the future exploration of space.
There are so many questions to ask about this topic and so many ways
to go about answering them. If I were to write this Zine all over again I
would chose to include these new topics and more in depth exploration

So fellow flyers, keep asking questions and together we

can soar to new heights of scientific discovery!

This is your captain, signing off, over and out...

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