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flight

Investigating flight – introduction

Article

Investigating flight – introduction

Have you ever wanted to fly? To soar above valleys and mountains, cities and oceans, feeling the wind whipping against ...

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Aerospread – top flight innovation

Article

Aerospread – top flight innovation

Aerospread Managing Director Bruce Peterson isn’t just a businessman and pilot. Bruce is an innovative ‘backyard engineer’ whose work to develop topdressing plane components and software ...

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Linda Bulk

Article

Linda Bulk

Position: Director, Aeronavics Ltd. Field: Aerial robotics Background knowledge and experience Linda Bulk, Director and former General Manager/CEO of Aeronavics Limited, initially intended to pursue a ...

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Aeronavics

Article

Aeronavics

Drones, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), droids, flying robots – no matter what you call them, they are fast becoming the latest must-have technology. Need to check ...

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Ruffling ancient feathers: kiwi’s Malagasy cousin

Article

Ruffling ancient feathers: kiwi’s Malagasy cousin

A DNA study of extinct elephant bird specimens held at Wellington’s Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa have revealed the birds to be the kiwi’s ...

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Hypersonic vehicles

Article

Hypersonic vehicles

Hypersonic vehicles are perhaps a dream of the future, but if they have a chance of happening, research is important to develop materials that will handle ...

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Flight – writer's insight

Article

Flight – writer's insight

Flight was a topic our writer Barbara Ryan enjoyed teaching. "We got really involved – twice I invited Patrick Monro (inventor and flight enthusiast) to come ...

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Flight mythology

Article

Flight mythology

People have long had an obsession with flight. Characters from legends and fairy tales often have the surprising ability to take off from the solid Earth ...

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How birds fly

Article

How birds fly

One of the requirements for heavier-than-air flying machines is a structure that combines strength with light weight. This is true for birds as well as planes. ...

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Wings and lift

Article

Wings and lift

For a plane or bird to fly, its wings must produce enough lift to equal its weight. Most wings used in flight are a special shape ...

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Hang-gliders

Article

Hang-gliders

Hang-gliders are unpowered aircraft. They maintain flight by employing a flying surface (wing) called an aerofoil. While powered aircraft use their own power source (motor and ...

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People in flight history

Article

People in flight history

People have always tried to imitate birds. People in legends and fairytales have been able to magically fly, and ancient Chinese, Persians, Romans, Arabs, monks, scholars, ...

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Dr Jesse Conklin

Article

Dr Jesse Conklin

Position: Post-doctoral researcher, Conservation Ecology Group, The University of Groningen (formerly a PhD student at Massey University). Field: Ornithology Jesse Conklin spends his time researching things ...

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Dr Phil Battley

Article

Dr Phil Battley

Position: Associate Professor, School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University. Field: Ornithology. Dr Phil Battley lectures at Massey University. He combines teaching zoology to students, doing ...

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Gliders and kites

Article

Gliders and kites

Gliders and kites both have wings to generate lift. A glider’s wings are aerofoils. Well made kites are also aerofoil wings, which gives them lift. Gliders ...

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Wing aspect ratio

Article

Wing aspect ratio

Wing shapes and sizes of both birds and planes determine how they might perform or what they might be capable of (for example, gliding, sustained high ...

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Wing loading

Article

Wing loading

You can tell a great deal about how a bird lives or what a plane has been designed for just from its wing shape and size. ...

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Principles of flight

Article

Principles of flight

For thousands of years, people have wanted to fly. Our legends and fairy tales are full of humans and animals that can fly – effortlessly gliding ...

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Tracking godwits

Article

Tracking godwits

Research on godwit migration involves tracking or following the flight path of the birds. Scientists like Dr Phil Battley and Dr Jesse Conklin from Massey University ...

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Flight of the godwit

Article

Flight of the godwit

Bar-tailed godwits can fly about 12,000 km at one time – further than any other known bird. This recent discovery excited ornithologists around the world. Dr ...

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Falling, floating, flying

Article

Falling, floating, flying

All flying objects have some things in common. For some things, it is easy to decide if they are flying or not – a bird, a ...

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Investigating flight – question bank

Article

Investigating flight – question bank

An inquiry approach is a method often used in science education. The question bank provides an initial list of questions on flight and places where their ...

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A progression of flight – timeline

Article

A progression of flight – timeline

Use this timeline to find out some highlights in the progression of flight in human history. 1000 BCE – First kites Kites are invented in China. ...

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Investigating flight– key terms

Article

Investigating flight– key terms

What is flight? People have different ideas about what flies. Our resources explore winged flight through birds, planes, gliders, hang-gliders and kites. This resource provides explanations ...

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