In this lesson, students will experiment with gliding flight, following in the footsteps of Otto Lilenthal. This lesson begins directly above the Fliegeberg (Aviation Hill), in southeastern Berlin, Germany. Lilienthal and others conducted many glider experiments from this man-made hill. The engine will be off for this lesson, and students will practice gliding flight. In the Cessna 172, the best glide speed for the airplane is 65 knots. Students will need to maintain this speed by pitching the nose higher or lower during the descent, just like Lilienthal would have done in his glider trials!

In this lesson, students will apply some fairly weighty issues (no pun intended) related to aerodynamics. Without an airplane to help visualize aerodynamics concepts, students run the risk of failing to comprehend this very important, theoretical content. This lesson aims to solve that problem by providing students a test bed to explore changes in thrust, lift, and drag. This activity should pair nicely with the wind tunnel project as a further extension of aerodynamics knowledge.

In this lesson, students will fly a recreation of the accident scenario depicted in the AOPA ASI Case Study - In Too Deep. The goal is not to recreate the crash itself or even to actively try to avoid it. The goal of this lesson is to help students see how the accident could have occurred. By visualizing the poor weather in the area and the void of situation awareness available to a pilot, students can better understand the factors that caused the accident and avoid such mistakes in their future flying.