Reflections on Advanced Aviation Science Sabbaticals

Hi all,

During the sabbaticals last term, I took part in the Advanced Aviation Science course, a sequel to the Basic one. This advanced one was far more interesting. During the 1st 3 days, we underwent a course by the same instructor during the basic one. But this time, we weren't asked to fly planes. We were taught to fly F-16 FIGHTER JETS!!!! It was a wonderful experience. How we lock-on onto the computer jets, shot them down with guns and missiles. The air-ground attacks were also very interesting as well. Dropping dumb bombs, scattering bombs, many others into the enemy's base and aiming for their tanks.

The F-16 was extremely real. They had the screen and all the interfaces just like the real F-16 fighter jets. I realised the life of a fighter pilot isn't at all easy. They have to be totally aware of their situation. A slight mistake may mean the end of them.

For the next 2 days. We went to the science lab to do some hands-on plane-making. I paired up with Aik Yang from 1A1. We were given some wood and a blueprint. What we first did was to cut out the parts in the blueprint and trace them onto the wood. We then used pen-knifes to cut them out. We had the body, fins, tail wings and rudder. We then secured the rudder with super glue and used rubber bands to tie our wings and fins. This was for us to find the center of gravity and test which position is best for flight.

 However, it started to rain and we went to the Oei Tiong Ham hall to test continue testing our planes. By this time, we had already found the best positions and sticked the fins and wings with super glue. However... As we were testing our plane. Some person stepped on our plane and 'Snap' it went. The fin broke into half and tail wing went off. So, like a surgeon, we did a emergency operation and used super glue to fix it. After 15minutes of 'life-saving' we finally got our planes in-tact once again. BUT, another person stepped on it and bam, it was gone again. Although we tried to 'rescue' it, but it was to no avail. It 'died'.

Fortunately, on the last day of the course. We were able to remake another plane. (WHEW) However, it wasn't as good as the previous plane. SO we had to make do with it. And here came a disastrous thing we had to do to the plane. We had to like cut the wings and tilt it. It just screwed our plane and made it fly sideways. Totally  spoiling our plane.

This course was much more fun than the Basic one as there wasn't much theory and more hands-on. Time passes so quickly when we are enjoying. Don't they.

Reflection for the past 3 terms

Hi all,

It has been very fruitful for the past 3 terms in Science for me. Much has been taught to me. Most of the things can be applied to daily life. For example, pressure, that has just been taught, can explain why is it so painful when a needle pokes you compared to a blunt object like wallet. Another example is SI units and conversion of units. It's very useful to us in daily life when we may have to calculate things.

The practicals that were done in the lab were also very fun. Things like operating a bunsen burner or handling iodine or ethanol were never allowed back then in primary school. The teachers back then were worried we may screw ourselves up. Having done so, I have been taught something important, concentration. Without it, it is indeed extremely dangerous and an accident may just happen.

I am actually surprised that now in Sec.1, science is actually the subject I am excelling in. My science was pretty bad back then in Pri.6. Even in PSLE, I only got an 'A' while my others classmates got 'A*' for it. I am actually finding science now so much easier than back then in Pri.6.

That's all for my post. Anticipating Forensic Science now.

Reflections on Basic Aviation Science workshop

Hi all,

For the past 3 Wednesday, I have been attending a science course about basic aviation science. I learnt much about the science high up in the air. For example about air pressure high up in the air where the higher you go, the lesser the air pressure and air would be much thinner, which also means that there is less air resistance so aeroplanes can move faster. I also learnt about some interesting facts like human can survive at air at 10,000ft above sea level, beyond that, humans would start to struggle. Other interesting facts are like the lesser oxygen anyone breathes in, the 'higher' they feel, this means when people start falling from a high altitude, and are well, going to die, they are at least happy for their last few moment. 

However, all work but no plays makes us a dull boy, so we had some hands on, no, we did not take a aeroplane ride and jump down, but we flew simulated aeroplanes on computers using joysticks and a software called Microsoft Flight Simulator IV. It was an interesting experience, where we could try flying different kinds of planes including passenger jets, or big planes like a Boeing 747. An interesting fact I discovered that was flying a big aeroplane is much easier than just a mini plane, because of 1 simple reason -- Autopilot. We were told that such feature of a major plane allows the pilots of the plane to relax and have a nap while the plane flied on its own, but on a mini plane, this isn't the case, the pilot has to be very concentrated on his flying, a slight mistake could just have he/she and his/her passenger dead.

We learnt other facts like why do planes stall, why is it better to fly against the wind, and many other factors of plane flying. The instructor listed many examples, which made me very interested in his lessons. A particular example was set by our very own Singaporean pilot. The co-pilot made a wrong calculation on a 100 tons worth of cargo, fuel, crew, passengers, etc... and this caused the pilot to miscalculate the speed needed to take off. So the pilot got a speed which is lesser than the actual speed needed to take off. So at his calculated speed, the pilot attempted to take off, but of course, failed. So, the plane was traveling of 2 wheels for the next 600m. When the plane finally took off, they were very near a mountain(it wasn't in Changni Airport) and if they were to remained at this speed or angle, they would be crashing into it. Realising that, the pilot decided to take the risk of adjusting his angle. So he tilted the nose of the plane and it was nearly reaching the angle of attack, which was the angle that the plane would stall, but fortunately, it did not and the plane managed to go pass the mountain. The pilot knew that he could not carry on with his flight and decided to take a turn and land back at the airport. However, he did not take note of his calculated speed was wrong. He landed at his calculated speed and unfortunately, that day was a rainy one and floor was slippery, the plane started to skit nearly off the track. It was only centimeters before the plane would touch the soft grass. So what would happen if the plane land on the grass? Firstly, the plane would slide over towards the side, and the wings of the plane, which contains fuel and the engine, which was till running, would land on the grass and finally break apart. As soon as the wing breaks apart, fuel would start leaking out and sparks produced by the engine would lit up the fuel causing a major fire. Fortunately, the pilot was experienced enough to prevent such major incidents to happen.

This workshop has made me much about science high up in the air. I am currently looking forward to the sabbatical on Advanced Aviation Science. 

Thanks for reading :D

Gallon.

Gallon is a measurement of volume. It is around 4litres(3.78541178 litres). However, there are different types of Gallon, the UK and US, so it may be a little

Its Origin:

Before and into the 19th century there were also several other gallons in use, with varying definitions. These are summarized in the table below. During some eras, the gallon was based on an exact conversion with a linear measure cubed. Other eras, the gallon was based on a rational approximation to the volume of a cylinder that could be used as a standard container, such as a basket, barrel, or jar. Other definitions were based on the density of a commodity, occasionally water, but more often a more marketable good such as wine or oats. Given these options and the variety of cultures that have used the gallon, it is not surprising that the exact value has drifted over the centuries.

Its relation to SI units:

Different cases.

In the case of US Gallons:3.78541178 litres

In the case of UK Gallons:4.545 liters.

Its usefullness:

Easier to calculate.

Its disadvantages:

May be confusing if only 'Gallons' is stated. People may be unsure whether it is referring to the UK or US unit.

The Egg in Water Video Explanation

The density of the egg was greater than that of the water at first, this causes the egg to sink to the bottom of the beaker. However, when the generous amount of salt is poured and dissolved into the water, the density of the solution immediately increases with the dissolved salt in it, thus the density of the egg is now lesser than the density of the solution and causes it to float instead of sinking to the bottom of the beaker.