South Otago High School
Physics of Flight Trip 2023 SOAC Aerodrome. On Tuesday 16th May twenty of our students got to fly in a Cessna 172 as part of our Physics programme.
Before the flight students were given a lesson on the physics and practicalities of flying a light aircraft by our flight instructor, Joe. Students then took off with their pilot for the day, Stefan. The students spent half an hour in the air. During this time the students got to experience banked turns, steep climbs, and rapid descents, and got a feel for positive and negative g-forces. They also got to enjoy the fantastic view of our local coastline. For the lucky students in the front seat the controls were handed over to them and they had a turn flying the Cessna back to the Balclutha Aerodrome.
Above: Brayden, Ryan and Jethro back from the first flight of the day
Above: Stefan and Jo go through safety procedures before departing.
Right: Joe explains the lift equation to students before flying.
A big thank you to Lisa Watt, Bill O’Connor, Joe, Stefan and the South Otago Aero Club for making this trip possible.
Chris Sly
TIC Physics
