Flying Start is designed to help students develop key skills and increase awareness of the excellent careers available in engineering. The aim is for teams composed of four students to design, build and test a model glider that they will present at the regional Fly-Off. Each team then has the chance to fly their glider against schools from the same region, with teams judged on the distance flown and on a poster presentation detailing the design decisions made.

The students were taken through the science and design of modern and historical planes, with concepts such as Newton's Third Law, the Bernoulli Effect, and turbulence applied. They evaluated materials and chose within a budget to come up with a first design.

The designs will be built, trialled, and improved over the next few weeks before the Regional Fly-Off in April. Our students have made a fantastic start, and we wish them luck when they perform against the other competing schools!