​Credibility

Making something fly is of universal interest and not a little mystery.

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Personal

When we make an artefact it's common to form a personal interest in it - it is ours and from it we project aspects of our character and capability.  ​

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Thinking Skills

Observational skills and interpretation of the glider's behaviour are essential to trimming a glider for flight. The rules are surprisingly easy to learn and they are rigorous  - in a short time a learner can predict how a  glider will fly before the flight and begin to share their learning and ideas with others. This cements understanding in a practical, demonstrable and non competitive way. Furthermore these concepts can be seen in full size aircraft. In this sense the most basic concepts of flight are demonstrated in the most complex aircraft. This is called purpose and relevance.

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Boxes

Before we go food shopping we make sure the kitchen has cupboards ready to hold everything. Practical hands on experiences serve to create those storage spaces into which we can file that information. This in turn creates the 'purpose' of learning valuable core and soft skills in the minds of those who only learn if they can see the purpose.

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Creativity - divergent /Neurodivergent thinking

Once the rules have been learned they can be tested or developed quite safely. This further provides a great sense of purpose and challenge to children for whom the static classroom may be intolerably boring. Reasoning through their ideas is essential at this and the highest levels of aircraft design. One of the most rewarding aspects of our glider kits is the degree to which they can be modified beyond recognition and still fly or perform aerobatics as required.

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Convergent thinking

Creativity in the aero industry is matched and offset by a level of convergence unique to the industry, The rigour of tolerance, procedure and scrutiny is unparallelled and this aspect gives rigour to the more creative aspects. ​

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National Wellbeing

The wellbeing of children in education is ever topical; prompting record numbers of families to opt for home education and schools to farm SEND provision to external organisations who often have LESS engineering capability than the school. Thankfully it is this route as AEP (Alternative provision) from which T&S have met our most gifted students.

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The sleeping Giant

Aeromodelling has always been essentially a home-based education. Vastly more children access it in flying clubs than in schools and usually through parents and relatives.  Its technologies, methods and means are more influential in military and civilian life than ever before. The industry has so many related aspects, skills, professions and careers that to be involved with aerospace in some way is universally relevant into the future.

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Solutions:

Aeroschool UK - resources for learning with structure, continuity and progression into engineering or maybe just into life.

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Lasercraft Solutions

A range of inexpensive laser cut products that can be starting points for practical fun activities in flight

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Aeroschool Tour

Delivering aspect of Aeroschool to air museums airshows and aero activities. Training youth leaders to deliver our activities.

 

And Payload Pal -  ideas tips tricks and resources from past entrants to get you to the BMFA challenges and also to other national challenges held around the Uk.

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Progression - the missing Educational Vehicle

At long last - we can start to add a hierarchy of achievement in aero design and making. Structured with national challenges in mind such as the BMFA payload challenges its should be possible to follow our curriculum and compete at an international level.

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Get started with Aeroschool Activities

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AEROLUTION

 

Who will learn what?

1. All children will have fun and enjoy a simple but informative activity 

2. Most children will understand the basic theory.

3. Some children will want to extend to more of our activities/kits etc

4. A few children will join a club or even an out of school club perhaps an online club. hybrid.

5. Individuals will eventually take up a career in a related context. Hopefully UK engineering will still be a thing.

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It's category 4 and 5 that have been neglected in the past - but not now! Aeroschool has opportunities for these.

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So how to identify and provide for these children?

• Run an Aerolution session in your classroom.

• Encourage children to 'play' with the gravity launcher at breaktimes with cardboard taps and scissors making their creations.

• Join our community

• Download our resources

• Purchase our kits

• Collaborate in meetups /challenges locally and nationally​

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STAGE 1 - Aeroquare challenge (bulk activity)

We don't call it an aeroplane. We don't want to precondition the learner to think in terms of jet or Spitfire. They will learn the basics of glider flight​

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STAGE 2 - AEROLUTION -5 Gliders (kits in class sets or individually)

​Explore alternatives for the format of a wing and stabilising surface.

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STAGE 3 - (Separate kits)

• Explore wing shape, aspect ratio

• Explore pitch of the wing

• Explore optimum wing area

• Explore aerobatics

• Explore structures

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STAGE 3 - PAYLOAD PAL (For teams entering BMFA challenges)

• Explore scaling up ratios/scale

• Explore introducing power RTP

• Explore structures various techniques and jigs

• Explore wing profiles, flift wind tunnel

• Explore Radio Control

• Explore rationalising for speed/payload

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STAGE 4

National and local challenges /design collaboration​​​​​​​​​

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How can I access Aeroschool? -

see our Solutions page

You can access Aeroschool in a number of ways.

1. You can come to us in Northamptonshire for our weekly group sessions for school children (Alternative Education Provision) and other groups for Home Educators.

2. Buy our educational kits and schemes of work online for group work and access tutorials by Zoom etc.

3. Book us to visit you or your group with our mobile workshop!

4. Come to one of our Aerocamps at venues like Shuttleworth,  BMFA Buckminster or at home in Irthlingnorough.

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Products - see our solutions page

• Cardboard kits and schemes of work

• Gravity launcher

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Achievement Schemes you can do

• BMFA Flying achievement schemes

• Bronze CREST awards for testing aero principles

• Silver and Gold CREST awards for entering the BMFA Payload Challenges.

• Scouts badges etc

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Hybrid Delivery and Resourcing

We run online learning and group video sessions and can provide you with all software and video resources you need to run your own club.

We can even laser cut your designs in cardboard and post them back to you!

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Training and Consultancy

Mark is available to train you to deliver our unique resources and or train your staff to deliver Aeroschool UK curriculum.

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Distance Learning

You can even purchase our unique educational kits and projects for your child, HE group, youth club, air cadets or scout group by joining our e-aer0school. 

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So please read on and get excited about what you, your child/children could achieve through our unique independent learning resource.

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Legal

Where you use and publish your use of our resources in activity images Please credit Aeroschool UK' - as we duly credit our own external sources.

 

• We reserve all rights on our products and projects and the right to modify them without notice.

• Any CAD files you are sent for educational purposes are for your own educational use only.

 

• Larger orgs may wish to manufacture our kits on licence for multiple groups (if you think you can make them cheaper!!). The licence is based on the number produced rather than being open ended. Crediting Aeroschool UK for their use is required.

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• All concerns, complaints, requests for customisation and development enquires must be made to Aeroschool UK in the first instance.

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