The many activities contained in this teaching guide emphasize hands-on involvement, prediction, data collection and interpretation, teamwork, and problem solving. The guide also contains background information about aeronautical research that can help students learn how airplanes fly. Following the background sections are a series of activities…

"The 2006 Winter Meeting of the AAPT Was Over..."and the flight home from Anchorage to Cleveland was just about to end--eight hours in the air, only two complimentary beverages, no meals, a jump across four time zones, a one-year-old baby daughter, and a wife whose motto for the week was, "Why did they choose to have a winter meeting in Alaska?"…

A discussion of the aerodynamics of a boomerang as it relates to that of a golf ball. (BB)

Presents suggestions to help students learn about the concept of flight. Ideas include making a classroom timeline of flight, creating balloon rockets to demonstrate the concept of thrust, making tissue paper parachutes and observing the effect of drag, designing a space mission patch, and having a model paper airplane competition. (SM)

Discusses the status of aviation aerospace education in Pennsylvania. Includes workshops, flight training, and aerospace education programs. (MLH)

Describes the Exploring program, developed by the Boy Scouts of America, which offers projects and career awareness programs to youth in the 15 to 20 year age group. (MLH)

Describes a workshop for experienced aerospace educators, designed for in-depth study and the acquisition of additional skills. This workshop was held at the same time as a beginner's workshop, with the advanced participants acting as group leaders for the beginners' workshop. (MLH)

Provides a review of the literature on the history and development of flight research as it applies to flight instruction. (MLH)

Cites statistics and characteristics for the current courses and programs in higher aviation education. Discusses efforts to establish guidelines for new programs in aviation. (MLH)

Presents data on aircraft take off and landing, including measurements of turning speeds, triangle of velocities method, fuel consumption, air pressure differences, air turbulence, maintenance inspection, and airborne radar. Indicates the materials can serve as relevant physics examples in teaching sixth and seventh form pupils. (CC)

Article describes a program which involved students from junior high school level through graduate school in the building of scale models of the Mariner Venus/Mercury spacecraft. (Author/HB)

Current aeronautical research is highlighted, focusing on tilt rotor aircraft, quiet short-haul jets, HiMAT (Highly Maneuverable Aircraft Technology), pivoting wing aircraft, energy absorption tests, and lightning research. (JN)

Recounts the contributions of Robert Goddard from the years of 1911 to 1930 to the development of the physics of rocketry. Discusses the results of Goddard's series of rocket experiments endorsed by the Smithsonian Institute, and Goddard's claims to priority in the development of rocket theory. (MDH)