Case Study

The experiences to be gained at Physics, Flight, and Fun have been proven to succeed. In 2001, an independent study was created for a 9th grade gifted student who had already taken all of the courses available at the junior high. While teaching physics full time, Mr. Joseph Warwick agreed to mentor Brandon through an internet course. After reviewing the internet courses available, the parents were more interested in a science course which offered their son something he could not learn on his own. Mr. Warwick and the student discussed similar interests. The student's eyes lit up when he mentioned the possibility of studying flight.

Joe developed a curriculum to teach aeronautics with a “hands-on” research emphasis. Brandon was to learn about the physics of flight, build a model airplane, and enter the Bucks County Science Fair with a research question relative to the topic of flight.

The course began with a strong emphasis in Newton 's Laws to study the four forces of flight. Brandon was thrilled to learn at his own pace with the support of Mr. Warwick (Joe). After gaining a solid understanding of the necessary physics and mathematics, Joe introduced the mechanics of flight. Joe used several text books to help guide Brandon through the subject. The course also included topics in weather, navigation, and physiology.

The most exciting section of the course for Brandon was the building of the remote controlled airplane. The construction of the 6-ft wingspan model required many new skills and experiences. The construction of the model included Brandon working in the wood shop, utilizing several pieces of machinery. Brandon was required to customize the model in order to carry a computer interface device along with a 3-axis accelerometer to measure the "g-force" while in flight. After the model was constructed, he learned to fly it with success.

His research project was to study the accelerations of a plane in flight. While the plane was in flight, he recorded the acceleration. In addition Brandon videotaped the plane Brandon synchronized the playback of the acceleration graph video with the flight video and superimposed the two. This gave a dynamic representation of the "g-force" or acceleration a plane experiences while flying through stunt maneuvers. This project won the Bucks County Science Fair in the category of physics (against all grades). Brandon went on to place 2nd at the regional contest. Several branches of the military recognized his work with special awards as well.

Brandon feels as if this is one of the best educational experiences in his educational career. Brandon has just recently graduated from Columbia University majoring in Physics and minoring in Music and will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall for Medicine.