Other Flying Objects There are many objects that are able to sustain some flight, these include: Helicopters Boomerangs Parachutes Hot air balloons Kites Airships Rockets Gliders Birds

Hot Air Balloons In 1783 the Montgolfier brothers flew their hot air balloon 12kms, for 25 minutes over Paris before returning to Earth. The brothers were paper makers and made their balloon from layers of paper. They did not know why their balloon rose, but they knew it had something to do with the fire underneath the balloon. They also knew it had something to do with the weight of the balloon so tried to make it as light as possible.

Hot air balloons Rises because there are unbalanced forces acting on the balloon Hot air is less dense and is pushed up by the denser cooler air. The rising air causes an upward force called lift. If the lift is greater than the downward force (weight - gravity) then the balloon rises. To come down, the flame is turned down, reducing the amount of hot air, reducing lift.

Boomerangs When we think of Boomerangs we usually think of a device that returns to you when you throw it, but there are actually two different types: Returning Boomerang, designed to be thrown further than a piece of wood. Non-returning Boomerangs (effective for hunting, Aborigines call them Kylies)

How does it Fly? The wings are set at a slight tilt and they have an airfoil design -- they are rounded on one side and flat on the other, just like an airplane wing. The air particles move more quickly over the top of the wing than they do along the bottom of the wing, which creates a difference in air pressure. The wing has lift when it moves because there is greater pressure below it than above it.

How does it move? As you can see in the diagram, the two wings are arranged so that the leading edges are facing in the same direction, like the blades of a propeller. At its heart, a boomerang is just a propeller that isn't attached to anything. Propellers, like the ones on the front of an airplane or the top of a helicopter, create a forward force by spinning the blades, which are just little wings, through the air. This force acts on the axis, the central point, of the propeller. To move a vehicle like a plane or helicopter, you just attach it to this axis.

Why does it come back? The uneven force caused by the difference in speed between the two wings applies a constant force at the top of the spinning boomerang, which is actually felt at the leading side of the spin. So, like a leaning bicycle wheel, the boomerang is constantly turning to the left or right, so that it travels in a circle and comes back to its starting point. Roll a roll of sticky tape in a straight line, and then roll it on an angle

Helicopter Helicopters are the most versatile flying machines in existence today. This versatility gives the pilot complete access to three-dimensional space in a way that no airplane can. The following video shows a helicopter performing a pirouette, in which it rotates 360 degrees while it travels down a straight line relative to the ground http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvNeE3TANsY

What can a Helicopter do? A helicopter can do 3 things a plane cannot: fly backwards and sideways. The entire aircraft can rotate in the air. A helicopter can hover motionless in the air.

How Helicopters Fly The rotating wings of a helicopter are shaped just like the airfoils of an airplane wing, but generally the wings on a helicopter's rotor are narrow and thin because they must spin so quickly. The helicopter's rotating wing assembly is normally called the main rotor. If you give the main rotor wings a slight angle of attack on the shaft and spin the shaft, the wings start to develop lift.

How Helicopters Fly The swash plate assembly changes the angle of attack of the main rotor's wings as the wings revolve. A steep angle of attack provides more lift than a shallow angle of attack.

Why doesn’t the whole helicopter spin? The tail rotor provides stability to the main section of the helicopter. The tail rotor is of a similar design to the main rotor, therefore it can be set to counteract the natural tendency of the helicopter to spin. Turning the helicopter is simply achieved by increasing or reducing the angle of attack of the tail rotor blades.

The Science behind Kites Kites are heavier than air. An upward or lifting force must oppose the weight of the kite if the kite is to fly.

Kites Most of the force come from the wind pushing against the face of the kite. The rest of the force is from the upper surface of the kite acting like an aeroplane wing and producing a partial vacuum. If the kite is stationary in the sky, then all the forces are balanced.

Birds Birds are endothermic (warm blooded) vertebrate animals that have wings, feathers and a beak. Birds that fly, have wings that are shaped to provide lift.

Flight of Birds Birds must have 3 things in order to fly: Oxygen - they have a unique one way system in which the air flows through the respiratory system. Feathers - help to give the wing the shape needed in order to fly. They overlap and make it airtight, which is ideal for flying! However, they are also use for thermal insulation and courtships or mating displays. Anatomy - They have lightweight skeletons, with most bones being thin and hollow. (some have internal struts that make them strong)

Anatomy Similar structure to our hand and arm.

Types of Flight Soaring Essentially this means that their wings generate a lot of lift without producing much drag. Large birds have evolved to be gliders partly because gliding becomes easier the larger your wings are and obviously small birds cannot have large wings. Secondly, the mechanics of flapping flight become harder to attain the larger you get. (The more weight, the more lift needs to be generated – Newtons second law f=m x a law)

Types of Flight Flapping Flapping flight is a more complicated process. The bird's wing changes shape during both the up and down stroke. It also changes its angle of attack depending on how much it presses down and how much it pushes backwards. Flapping flight is basically rowing in the air with the added complication that it needs to generate lift as well.

Flight of Birds When a bird flaps its wings, the primary flight feathers act like the propeller on a airplane. These feathers are angled so the low pressure area of the feather is towards the front of the bird, pulling the bird forward. The main lift and propulsion come on the down stroke of the wings. When the wing is lifted upwards, the secondary flight feathers also help create lift.

Flight Muscles Flight muscles are attached to the bird's skeleton in the breast area and are of two types. Strong muscles with lots of blood vessels are darker in color and help sustained flight. Lighter colored muscles are used for quick explosive flight. Consider a roast chicken. There is light and dark meat. Game birds have breasts of light colored muscle while birds needing longer flights have breast muscles that are dark. Some birds, such as pigeons, have breasts with a mixture of the two types of muscles, allowing them to quickly get away but also cover great distances. (migration)

Feathers Birds have a number of different groups of feathers needed in order to fly. The feathers on the wings, help to provide lift. The feathers on the tail aid in steering. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1uY7_wdYOA