Learning how to fly

How do airplanes fly? That is the question that was posed to a group of children at the aviation camp held at the Western Development Museum on Monday. The children learned about the history of powered flight, the basic principles of flight and air pressure. "We are teaching the kids all about flight and how it happens," said Shirley Stenko, visitor services officer at the museum. "We have compared airplanes with birds and learned all about aerodynamics." The day began with a brief explanation of how airplanes fly and the historic flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903. "I didn't know the first flight only lasted 12 seconds," said Colin Krahn, 9, one of the students at the camp. Stenko explained that the shape of an airplane's wing, which is curved over the top and straight underneath, helps air flow around the wing and creates lift based on the wing's movement through the air and the pressure created around the wing. The air moving over the top of the wing has further to travel and must move faster than the air under the wing. The difference in air pressure is the main force creating lift on a wing, said Stenko. She also taught the children about Bernoulli's principle that the pressure of a fluid (air) always decreases as its speed increases. Using a pencil, a strip of paper and a straw, Stenko demonstrated Bernoulli's principle. Attaching the paper to one side of the pencil and blowing air through the straw directed at the paper from the other side of the pencil, the children could see what happens when the air moves faster across the paper causing it to flap. "If faster air has lower pressure, then slower air must have higher pressure," said Stenko. The children built kites, parachutes and airplanes during the day camp. "I've learned a lot about flight today," said Piper Emmerson, 9, a student at the camp. "I know all the parts of an airplane, like the cockpit, fuselage, engine, nose, rudder, tail and windows." Emmerson said her favourite part of the camp was building and flying her kite, as well as playing with the model planes. Krahn said he thought it was interesting to learn that airplanes need a certain amount of air pressure to fly. "It has been a lot of fun here," said Krahn. "I have learned everything about flight from its history to aerodynamics and even what is needed to bail out of a plane if it is crashing." Colin Dewar can be reached at 691-1263