Courtesy of Manitou Springs School District 14
Air Force Academy cadets visited Manitou Springs High School science students on Thursday, Nov. 17, to inspire them about aeronautics. Lt. Nikita Webb led fellow cadets in assembling a in the gymnasium.
Students learned about Bernoulli’s principle and the physics of flying while sitting in the glider. Then, they headed over to the flight simulator to fly over the high school and around Pikes Peak, doing loop-de-loops. They had to be careful not to reach the “velocity never exceed” 155 knots (180 mph) or risk crashing.
Advanced students were even towed by an airplane and released the towline after reaching 7,300 feet. Then they “changed lanes” to avoid crashing and safely landed, sometimes even “crabbing” the glider, which is similar to jackknifing a car.
