Do you want to be an inventor?
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, the student will be able to apply their knowledge of trusses to understanding a patented aircraft design.
Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.4
Pre-Requisites
To complete this lesson, you need to know what trusses are; if you have not encountered them before, jump to this lesson.
Use of Trusses in Aircraft Design:
Bridges are what many people first picture when they think of truss structures. But trusses are everywhere – including in blimps! For as long as the airplane has been around, engineers have used trusses to devise strong, light structures. Back in the 1960s, a company called Aereon Corporation sought to build lighter than air flying wing aircraft. Check out their patent number 3,129,911 “Framework for Rigid Aircraft.” Can you spot the trusses? If you enjoy non-fiction, you can learn about their flying wing aircraft, the Aereon 26, in the book The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed by John McPhee!
Next Steps
Ready to up the challenge? Delve into technical literature on how blimps can be used to explore Venus in the lesson on Interplanetary Exploration.
Last updated: November 22, 2022.
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