"Summer
in the Skies" is a special program created by ISD high school science teacher,
Teresa Huckleberry.
It is a direct result of the knowledge and expertise she gained
from being
selected as Indiana’s 1994 recipient of the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship.
This fellowship is presented annually to a teacher in each
of the 50 states, in memory
of Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died
when the space shuttle
Challenger exploded
shortly after liftoff on January 28, 1986. The Christa
McAuliffe Fellowship
allowed Teresa
to become a licensed pilot and provided the funding to purchase
computer-based
flight simulators for her classroom. Summer in the Skies has
been in existence since
1997 and has presented "graduation wings" to 6-8 students each year.
Summer in the Skies is a four-week summer school program that uses flying as the
hook
to get students interested in math, science, history, reading, and
writing. The program
focuses on hands-on realistic applications,
out-of-state field trips, and actual flight time
in a single engine aircraft.
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Students learn:
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Basic
vocabulary, such as the parts of an airplane.
-
Physics
and the forces involved in flight: Newton's 3 Laws of Motion and Bernoulli's
Principle.
-
How
to read a compass and to correspond degree numbers with directions.
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The
history of aviation, from the early flights of Orville and Wilbur Wright
to high tech military jets.
-
The
life stories of famous pilots: Orville and Wilbur Wright, Bessie Coleman,
Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Doolittle, the Tuskegee Airmen,
and Chuck Yeager.
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The
life stories of Deaf pilots: Edward Payne, Rhulin Thomas, Nellie Z. Willhite,
Cal Rogers, Henry Kisor, and the pilots in the International Deaf Pilots
Association.
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How
to make paper airplanes and model airplanes.
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How
to read aviation navigational charts and maps.
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Flight
planning with maps, plotters, simple flight computers, and electronic flight
computers.
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How
to plot courses, calculate wind correction angles, and measure ground
speed and fuel consumption.
-
How
to fly realistic, computer-based simulators of military jets and
single engine aircraft.
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The
curriculum for Summer in the Skies is constantly evolving. During
the Summer of 2000
new field
trips were added, along with an art component which required students make
drawings and paintings
of their experiences.
Indian Creek High School has become a joint partner in our science adventures
and for the
first time, one of their students participated in Summer in the Skies.
The“Summer in the Skies” program is funded each year by an anonymous benefactor.
We are indeed grateful for his generosity which makes this unique program possible.
Because
of his active involvement with our school, we know what it is like
to soar the skies of summer.
He
is truly the …. ”Wind Beneath Our Wings.”
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Models
and Paper Airplanes
Academy of
Model Aeronautics Museum, Muncie, Indiana
Vincennes
University Aviation Technology Center
Purdue University
Aviation Technology Center
Wilbur
Wright Birthplace
United
State Air Force Museum, Dayton, Ohio
Speedway Airport
Interviewing
a Tuskegee Airman
Flying
Airplanes at Metropolitan Airport, Fishers, Indiana
EAA Air Adventure,
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
A Week
in Washington, DC
Students'
Artwork
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