Adding power with propellers - Lesson 10

Manna Moment

Hebrews 10:24-25- "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

What is the purpose of a propeller on a plane?  To provide thrust, that pushes forward.  In helicopters, they actually provide the lift to get the helicopter into the air.  We can be propellers for others on their journeys.  We are called to 'spur one another on' and to 'encourage one another.'  We can do this by saying a kind word, offering to help, or working together.  Let us propel each other on toward love and good deeds as we meet together to serve one another.  Our God is a God of relationship.  He has never been alone.  He has always been in continuous harmony and unity with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Because God made us in His image, we were created to need relationship and others.  Again I say, let us encourage each other daily, propelling each other on to love and good deeds.

adding power

The Wright brothers perseverance couldn't run out just yet.  While they were excited to add power to their successful glider, their assumptions of that being easy were quickly changed.  They had assumed that because propellers had been used for over 75 years, there would surely be a design that would work for them.  Nope.  There were absolutely no formulas or tables on propellers.  Ship makers were designing propellers on a trial and error basis so Wilbur and Orville would have to design their own.
By 1902, more engines were being built for horseless carriages, however, no automobile company wanted to build a custom engine for the Wright brothers so they would also be building their own engine for their flyer as well.
Their perseverance paid off because on December 17, 1903, Orville made the first official flight.  Their Wright Flyer stayed in the air for 12 seconds and glided 120 feet.  Wilbur then flew it and stayed in the air for 59 seconds and went 852 feet.  As they continued to tweak and practice the art of flying, their times grew longer as well as their distances.
Every person on earth now, is thankful for the gift of flying.  Praise the Lord!

Zipline Racer Investigation

How does the amount of rotations on the propellor affect the speed of the zipline racer?

Materials:

• Plastic Propeller
• Large Rubber bands (2)
• Craft sticks (7)
• Paper clips (3)
• Cardstock (patterns found in the Mysteries of Flight Student Guidebook)
• Scissors
• Masking tape
• String
• Stopwatch

In class I set up a zipline the length of the classroom attaching string to chairs and pulling the string taut.
Each student had to count how many times they turned their propeller before they tested it on the zipline.

It worked!!  This student had to run after her racer.

Getting students to go back to their investigation sheet and documents how many turns they used in a specific trial is amazingly hard since most of them want to 'play' and just see if it works.  I love that these two students I caught documenting their data.

Mysteries of flight