At Cambridge Gliding Centre we enjoy a great relationship with City University’s Aerospace Engineering programme. We teach their students the practical aspects of aircraft performance by taking them into the air in a glider and showing them! The aim is not to teach them how to fly, but to demonstrate and explain how the controls work and how the aircraft behaves in certain ‘abnormal’ situations such as when the wings stall. The students also make measurements of the performance of the aircraft at various speeds. We don’t officially aim to have fun, but we end up doing that as well!
The students don’t generally have much idea what to expect from their visit but they’re always very enthusiastic about their experience. Sitting in the front of the glider where they can see, hear and feel how the aircraft interacts with the air around it, brings all those dull equations to life.
