Fly Past

Since the dawn of human evolution, humankind has looked to the sky in awe, wonder and yearning. This desire to take to the sky and soar like a bird pushed and tempted humankind for centuries. In the early years of the twentieth century, two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, achieved that dream. In one short century, we have gone from the few airborne seconds at Kitty Hawk to space shuttles that travel and remain in orbit for years at a time. Fly Past chronicles this miraculous journey from wooden and muslin planes hovering tenuously over the ground to the sleek sophisticated state-of-the-art air and space craft. Fly Past would be useful for classes on American History and Culture, World History, Aviation History and Science and Technology. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

OBJECTIVES:

Students will learn the history of aviation from the early flights at Kitty Hawk to the space shuttle. They will explore the evolution of flight and aviation technology and the human desire for flight.

NATIONAL HISTORY STANDARDS:

Fly Past fulfills the following National Standards for History for grades 5-12: Chronological thinking, historical comprehension, historical analysis and interpretation, historical research capabilities, historical issues-analysis and decision-making for Eras 7-10.

A Wing and a Prayer

This episode of Fly Past explores the evolution of the flying wing.

• Acrimonious
• Adversary
• Bias
• Captivate
• Coefficient
• Expedite
• Impetus
• Prototype
• Reconnaissance
• Serendipitous
• Strategic
• Viable

Discussion Questions

1. Flying wings have been in development since the Cold War. What was the Cold War? How is a “cold” war different than a “hot” war?

2. What is a flying wing? How is it different from a conventional plane design?

3. Jack Northrop’s fascination with flight starts in his observations of nature. How did nature influence his designs?

4. Discuss some of the problems faced in the early stages of wing plane design and development.

5. One of the most difficult problems of wing planes is yaw. What is yaw?

6. How did World War II influence aviation and technology?

7. The Enola Gay is one of the most famous planes in history. What is this aircraft’s claim to fame?

8. Edwards Air Force Base is one of the major military air bases in the world. How did this base gets its name?

9. In the 1960s, the government cancelled their contract with Jack Northop for research and development of the flying wing. How did he react to the cancellation?

10. The B-36 was one of the most successful planes in military history. Why was this plane so successful?

11. What were some of the drawbacks of the B-36?

12. What was the “B-36 Affair?”

13. How was the B-36 a security blanket for Cold War anxieties?

14. The most important characteristic of flying wings is the difficulty of tracking them with radar. Why are they so difficult to detect?

Extended Activities

1. Imagine that you are an aeronautic engineer for the US Air Force. Design a flying wing for the future.

2. Design a poster celebrating Jack Northrop’s contributions to aviation history.

Related Videos

• 

Air Dates

• May 07, 2003
• December 17, 2003