An
excellent way for students to gain an understanding and a
feel for many of the concepts that they learn in math and
physics is to build and fly a kite. The forces
on a kite are so similar to the forces on an airplane that
the Wright
brothers often flew their gliders as tethered kites to
determine the aerodynamic characteristics. Like an airplane,
a kite is heavier than air and relies on the motion
of the wind past the kite to generate the aerodynamic lift
necessary to overcome the weight
of the kite. The movement of the air past the kite also generates
aerodynamic drag
which is overcome by constraining the kite with a control
line. The interaction of these forces determines the overall
performance which varies with the design of the kite.
At this Web site information is presented
concerning the construction, design, and flight characteristics
of several different kites.
This site was prepared at NASA Glenn by the
Learning Technologies Project (LTP) (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12)
to provide background information on kites as teaching
aids for math and science teachers. Some of the slides
were prepared to support KiteModeler, an interactive
educational computer program that allows students to design
and test fly kites on a personal computer. Other slides were
prepared to support LTP videoconferencing workshops (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/CoE/Coemain.html)
for teachers and students. KiteModeler
is currently available as a JAVA applet which runs in your
browser. This program can also be downloaded
to your machine.
This site has been intentionally organized
to mirror the unstructured nature of the world wide web. There
are many pages here connected to one another through hyperlinks
and you can then navigate through the links based on your
own interest and inquiry. There is also an index
of topics that you can access from any page, so you are never
more than two clicks away from any other Web page at this
site. However, if you prefer a more structured approach, you
can also take one of our Guided
Tours through the site. Each tour provides a sequence
of pages dealing with some aspect of aerodynamics.
NOTICE --- The site has recently been
modified to support Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
Many of the pages contain mathematical equations which have
been produced graphically and which are too long or complex
to provide in an "ALT" tag. For these pages, we have retained
the (non-compliant) graphical page and have provided a separate
(compliant) text only page which contains all of the information
of the original page. The two pages are connected through
hyperlinks.
- Beginner's Guide
to Aerodynamics
- Beginner's Guide
to Propulsion
- Beginner's Guide
to Model Rockets
- Beginner's Guide
to Kites
- Beginner's Guide
to Aeronautics
Back to top
Go to...
- Beginner's Guide
Home Page
byTom
Benson
Please send suggestions/corrections to: benson@grc.nasa.gov
|