Aviation

[optimist]

Messages moved from MeritBadge.com

Buffalo Bill
First Class

Joined: 15 Jul 2004
Posts: 54
Location: Florida Panhandle
Posted: 12 Aug 2004 10:06 pm Post subject: Aviation

I've posted an aide for Scouts desiring to earn Aviation MB.
You can view it at: http://troop509.org/aviationmb.htm

If you have difficulty finding a counselor and your
Scoutmaster is willing to accept a digitally signed "blue
card" I can help. Get your Scoutmaster's and parent's
permission, then you can work on the requirements via email.
It's worked for a couple Scouts from around the country.

Hope this helps!

B2
_________________
Bill Britt
Scoutmaster
Troop 509
Hurlburt Field, FL

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wagionvigil
Counselor

Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 189
Location: PA
Posted: 13 Aug 2004 06:46 am Post subject:

We have a small county airport here. A few years ago we had a
winter camporee at the airport. It was a great weekend with an
aviation theme and alot boys finally finished their MB. They
had flights arranged etc. Several different type of aircraft
like a bi plane a single engine piper a twin engine , a lear
jet and a couple copters. There is s Marice Detachment there
and they brought in a couple of Transports also.
Awsome weekend was all everyone could say
_________________
Action Center D Rappel Tower Director 2001 and 2005 National
Jamborees
Northeast REgion Area 4 Venturing Chairman
Wagion 6 Lodge Advisor 96-99
"If you ain't A bear you're a Meal"

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RWSmith
Counselor

Joined: 13 Jul 2004
Posts: 55
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posted: 13 Aug 2004 08:36 am Post subject:

Just checked it out.... GREAT JOB!
_________________
Bob Smith, OA, NESA, DAV
ADC, Apache District

If you can read this, thank a teacher... If you can read it in
English, thank a Veteran.

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Buffalo Bill
First Class

Joined: 15 Jul 2004
Posts: 54
Location: Florida Panhandle
Posted: 13 Aug 2004 09:24 am Post subject:

Aviation Camporees are an awesome idea. Don't forget the help
your local EAA can give you in this area. Young Eagles is a
great resource for flights for Scouts.
http://www.youngeagles.org/ or 1-877-806-8902.

....And once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth
with your eyes turned skyward, For there you have been and
there you long to return....
Leonardo daVinci

B2
_________________
Bill Britt
Scoutmaster
Troop 509
Hurlburt Field, FL

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Buffalo Bill
First Class

Joined: 15 Jul 2004
Posts: 54
Location: Florida Panhandle
Posted: 13 Aug 2004 01:33 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the kind words RW.

It was a labor of love, for Scouting and Aviation.

B2
_________________
Bill Britt
Scoutmaster
Troop 509
Hurlburt Field, FL

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[krichardson]

Alright here is something to think about.
In the Pamp. Guide to Safe Scouting. It talks about what are not BSA qualified activities. One of them is Hot Air Baloons.
With that in mind. Why is it that the new Aviation emb. have a Hot Air Baloon on it? The only thing in the merit badge book on hot air baloons is on page 90, and it is only about Steve Fossett for being the first person to fly around the world.
I just don't get it.

Kyle Richardson
GSLC Dist 16
WVC, UT

[pipestone1991]

Alright here is something to think about.
In the Pamp. Guide to Safe Scouting. It talks about what are not BSA qualified activities. One of them is Hot Air Baloons.
With that in mind. Why is it that the new Aviation emb. have a Hot Air Baloon on it? The only thing in the merit badge book on hot air baloons is on page 90, and it is only about Steve Fossett for being the first person to fly around the world.
I just don't get it.

Kyle Richardson
GSLC Dist 16
WVC, UT

Who knows....I got the old badge back in 2004...great badge to earn, though.

[svohoo]

Hi, Bill - I checked out your website - Great Job! I was really happy to see you point out the “debate” between the Bernoulli camp and Newton camp over how lift is created and I can’t resist the temptation to jump into the fray. The bottom line, as explained on the NASA website you linked to (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/bernnew.html), is that there really should be no debate at all. The details are all laid out there, but to make a long story short, they are both correct. To make lift, a wing has to push down on the air; (hence the term “downwash). We also still have to satisfy Bernoulli’s equation, which is basically a statement of conservation of energy, so we can still integrate the velocity profiles over and under a wing and get the pressure difference by applying Bernoulli. Multiply that pressure difference by the wing’s area, and we get a force – the same answer we get by plugging the downwash into Newton’s Second Law.

So what's all the fuss about? The problem with the popular explanation of lift, which appears in everything from the Cub Scout Handbook to, amazingly, college physics texts (I even saw a version of it on Boeing's web site), is the claim that the air moving over the top of the curved wing must reach the trailing edge at the same time as the air moving under it. It does no such thing – the air going over the top reaches the trailing edge long before the air going underneath. That means that it accelerates even more than would be predicted by the longer path/equal time theory (what NASA calls “incorrect theory #1"). So, basically a wing's lift has absolutely nothing to do with being cambered, i.e. curved on top and flat on bottom, except at extreme (very close to stalling) attack angles. It flies by pushing air down, and it does that by being tilted up into the wind. There are a bunch of ways to prove this to yourself. First, watch a plane fly upside down (stunt planes and most fighter jets have symmetric wings so they perform the same way inverted). If the popular explanation were true, it would fall right out of the sky. Second, stick your hand out of your car window cruising down the highway, tilt it up and down, and notice which way the wind pushes it. Third, fly a paper airplane, or a balsa wood glider.

This all had me kind of confused at first, but after reading through that website, and doing a little more research, it made perfect sense.

[spl08]

david, are you a pilot? just wondering. your stuff is correct.

[svohoo]

david, are you a pilot? just wondering. your stuff is correct.

Hi, SPL08 - no, 'fraid not - not yet at least (shhh ), although I probably have close to 100 hours on MS Flight Sim 04. I'm just a plain ole mechanical engineer, I guess with sort of a knack for fluid mechanics. I actually hadn't thought much about this until I saw it in the Webelos Handbook. Something bugged me, and I started doing a little research, because I like doing stuff with kids, especially when it comes to engineering, and I don't want to teach them wrong. Well, memories (nightmares?) of compressible gas dynamics started coming back, and here we are. The good news is my aviation merit badge pamphlet came today, and they actually almost got it right.

David

PS - Thanks for the ecouragement!

[Swim4lyfe]

Aviation has an interesting history behind it. It started out as one of the original 1911 merit badges and lasted until 1942 when it was broken up into four separate merit badges- Aerodynamics, Aeronautics, Airplane Design, and Airplane Structure. These merit badges only lasted for approximately 10 years before they were lumped together again to once more make up Aviation. The four aviation merit badges had a blue border to them; here's a pic:



Pretty cool.

[JamesGang]

My son has completed all of the requirements for this badge except this one:

3. Do ONE of the following:

a. Build and fly a fuel-driven model airplane. Describe safety rules for building and flying model airplanes Tell safety rules for use of glue, paint, dope, plastics, fuel, and battery pack.

b. Build a model FPG-9. Get others in your troop or patrol to make their own model, then organize a competition to test the precision of flight and landing of the models.


He has been planning on doing 3a. Can any one recommend a kit? The kits are very expensive and many of them don't even let you glue, paint, etc. so how do you talk about the safety rules? Thanks for any help you can give!

[Quailman]

I'd recommend doing option B if you aren't a hobbyist who already has a model airplane. He can make one and practice with it, and then bring a bunch of foam plates to a meeting or campout and show the other boys how to make them. He could even draw the pattern on the plates first. It's a lot cheaper.

[JamesGang]

We were hoping to do this over the summer so the patrol/troop option is difficult. His birthday will be here soon and he has only asked for this airplane. I am just having a hard time finding one that meets the requirements.

[Quailman]

Well, you questioned how to discuss safety rules when the kits don't require you to glue, paint, etc. You don't have to use the item to discuss the safety rules related to it. I don't know if the MB booklet has them (my son earned this one prior to last requirements change), but surely he can look them up and learn them to discuss with his MB counselor.

The requirement is three-fold:

Build and fly a fuel-driven model airplane. ---> It doesn't specify construction materials or techniques. He should ask his MB counselor what qualifies as "build", since some fuel-driven airplanes probably only require that you attach the wings, connect the battery and add fuel. As for "fly", he should do this at a meeting with his MB counselor. There's no distance or time requirement, and if it gets two feet off the ground and proceeds to crash and burn he'll want the counselor to know it 'flew".

Describe safety rules for building and flying model airplanes. ---> You needn't build or fly one to complete this part.

Tell safety rules for use of glue, paint, dope, plastics, fuel, and battery pack. ---> The rules are also independent of the use of the product.

[pipestone1991]

Back in '04 I believe we (as a troop) built the fuel-driven model airplane. They aren't cheap but are fun to try and build.

BTW, if your son loves aviation, I would suggest Flight Sim '08 ( I think that's what the new one is called?). I have Flight Sim '04 and love it. Very realistic.