You can

fly...
Let me take you on a journey
into cool aeronautics!

Have you ever thought
about how aeroplanes
and spaceships are made?
Aeroplanes are part of everyday life and
engineers are always thinking of exciting
new ways to travel … one day we may
all be flying into space for our holidays!
Meanwhile, satellites help us find out more
about the earth as well as making cosmic
discoveries about the stars and universe …
and maybe life on other planets.
Engineers use maths, science and computers
to design and build these amazing machines.
Using computers to design the aircraft, the
engineers then build small models so that
they can test how they would fly in real
life. They have to consider weight, wind,
and the weather – even though the sun
seems closer when you are flying, the air
is actually much colder!
Other engineers look after the aircraft and
make sure it is safe to fly. They use lots of
complicated equipment to find out if the
aircraft needs repairing. They also
use special tools but most
importantly their hands –
often getting right inside
the machinery to repair it!
Did You Know?
The first powered flight
took place on 17 December
1903 when the Wright
brothers’ home-built
design flew 120ft.
Other people fly the
aircraft
Pilots use their eyes and ears to fly the
aircraft, constantly checking all the screens
in the cockpit for flight information and
talking to air traffic control on the ground.
To learn how to fly in all
conditions, pilots must
understand the weather
and be very good at maths.
They also have to check
that the aircraft is not
too heavy, plan the flight
routes and look after the
team on the aircraft. Air
cabin crew are on board to
look after passengers and
make sure they are safe and
comfortable.
Astronauts have a similar role to pilots
– but they must also learn how to fly into
outer space! Many astronauts have been
successful pilots or are also engineers; this
means they can do spacewalks when they
reach outer space. Here, they use their
engineering knowledge
to repair objects in space
like the International
Space Station.
Did you know?
Laika, was the first animal
ever sent to space. He rode
to orbit in Sputnik II on the
3 November 1957.
You + aerospace = success! Flying High Wordsearch!

Whether you want to be an engineer, pilot A M E Y M T R L Y S

or astronaut, test your abilities with
L E W N O N A W A P
our puzzles!
S G R L I N U I W A
Colour in
B T I O D G Y N N C
P P A I P E N G U P
O L N R J L L E R E
K G Z L S I A U I S
T R O P R I A N K H
L A I K A S E W E I
X D G Q N N S V S P

AEROPLANE PILOT
Join the dots AIRPORT RUNWAY
If you can count to ten you can design a flying ENGINE SPACESHIP
saucer! Why not colour it in afterwards? LAIKA STARS
LANDING WING
10
7 8 9
1
2 Did you know?
The great Italian artist
3 Leonardo da Vinci was
6 fascinated by science. He
sketched aircraft designs
4 which inspired others
5 hundreds of years later.
Spot the difference?
Can you find five differences between the Pilots
below. Why not circle them as you spot them.

Find out more

Discover more about flight, make your
own paper aircraft and more! Visit:
www.aerosociety.com/coolaeronautics

www.aerosociety.com  www.sbac.co.uk
This little booklet has been produced in partnership by the Royal Aeronautical Society and the SBAC