Homeschool Unit Study: Airplanes

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When you think about airplanes, two brothers might come to mind: The Wright Brothers.

Wilbur and Orville Wright ran a bicycle repair shop. Later they began building their own bicycles. Despite not going to college, both brothers displayed impressive problem-solving and mechanical abilities from a young age. Their interests in aircraft started upon learning of a German engineer’s glider extermination. During this time, no manufacturer could build an engine light enough to power an aircraft off the ground. So, the Wright brothers set out on building their own.

On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers took their prototype to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for trial runs. It was there the first airplane took off the ground. It was the first successful powered flight of a self-propelled aircraft. Their homemade plane’s flight lasted only about 12 seconds, but this feat permanently changed history.

Much has changed today since the Wright brothers built their 12-horsepower, gasoline-powered aircraft. Today there are a wide variety of different types of airplanes and jets. Some planes and jets are now equipped with engines that can produce hundreds, even thousands of watts of horsepower. They can also stay in the air for several hours and travel thousands of miles before having to stop to refuel.

Today airplanes allow us to transport goods, people, and equipment for recreational and commercial purposes. Planes are an efficient way to travel from one place to another in a timely manner. Some aircraft today, known as drones, are not piloted at all. Instead, they are controlled remotely. All of these advancements would not have been possible without Wilbur and Orville Wright attempting to achieve what was considered to be impossible at that time. Their hard work and innovative ideas are what make modern flight possible today.

Maybe this airplane unit study will help spark your child’s imagination to achieve something new!