Soaring by Design - for iPad/Mac/PC: Recent Episodes

The Open University

How do you go about designing an aircraft that has no engine? What forces enable a glider to become airborne and quickly reach high altitudes quickly? The tracks in this album look at the aerodynamics of gliders, ask questions relating to the 'Speed to Fly', and explores the consequences of kinetic and potential energy change, providing a useful way of modelling the behaviour of a glider in the air. This material makes up part of the course MST209, Mathematical methods and models.

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A short introduction to this album.

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Transcript -- A short introduction to this album.

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Introducing the forces a glider is exposed to during flight.

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Transcript -- Introducing the forces a glider is exposed to during flight.

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Demonstrating the change of energy when a pilot dives to avoid a collision.

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Transcript -- Demonstrating the change of energy when a pilot dives to avoid a collision.

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Examining the process of winching as a launch mechanism.

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Transcript -- Examining the process of winching as a launch mechanism.

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The transfer of the huge forces between the wings and the glider body, and how the forces are resisted.

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Transcript -- The transfer of the huge forces between the wings and the glider body, and how the forces are resisted.

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The predictions of air flow on the wings, generated by mathematical modeling are compared with the real thing.

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Transcript -- The predictions of air flow on the wings, generated by mathematical modeling are compared with the real thing.

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The ways in which prototype gliders are tested, producing accurate polar curves.

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Transcript -- The ways in which prototype gliders are tested, producing accurate polar curves.

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The changes in the Total Energy of a glider when it comes in to the finish of a competition are examined.

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Transcript -- The changes in the Total Energy of a glider when it comes in to the finish of a competition are examined.