Year 10 ISTEM Takes to the Skies

Last week, Year 10 ISTEM pitched their aeronautical engineering skills against each other in a round of aerial dogfights.

The students had several weeks to design and build their balsa wood planes from a plan. Once built and tested, students then adjusted the weight distributions and the angle of attack to create the best fighter planes they could.

The purpose of the plane was to knock its opponent out of the sky. The planes were fitted with small engines and propellers and attached to a power ranker with wires and bulldog clips. Once attached, the students could control the energy that was powering the planes as they raced around the power source.

“It was a great way to teach the students about aerodynamics,” explains teacher Chris Parkin, “They also learned about collaboration and teamwork from the competition.”

The students will continue their aerodynamics unit through to the end of the term. You can view the photos and a video of the dogfights below.