CREATIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE FORCES
TEACHERS’ NOTES
Creative and Destructive Forces
Before your visit
o Make sure that all staff have a map of the site and the staff notes (below).
They must know the time of their gallery tour.
o Some initial work on how aeroplanes work and what technologies they have
contributed to would be useful. You may find our non-specialist guide to
aircraft at Duxford (below) helpful.
o Have a look at our KS3 Design and Technology museum trail if relevant. You
can print and copy it for the students to use, or just use it as a source of
ideas to structure your visit.
o Remember to bring payment and your entry ticket with you on the day.
Your session
Creative and Destructive Forces is a 60-minute tour of our AirSpace gallery, which
holds a wide range of civil and military aircraft and is an ideal place to look at
developments in flight science and how they can be applied both in times of war
and in everyday life. Students will find out how an aeroplane wing can dry your
hands, how a melting chocolate bar led to the invention of the microwave oven and
how technological developments used in weapons of war lead to everyday
commercial and social applications. The tour will showcase key artefacts of aviation
and military history and include interactive handling of selected collection pieces.
Learning Objectives
o Making connections and links between historic artefacts and modern day
technology
o Learning about history and science by handling materials and artefacts
o Listening, observing and reflecting
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Key Stage 3/4: Creative and Destructive Forces
Creative and Destructive Forces: Staff notes
Your visit
Check that you have a map of the site and know the times of your booked activity
and lunch.
CREATIVE
AND
DESTRUCTIVE
FORCES
Time:
Lunch
Time:
Location:
AirSpace Hangar.
From the Visitor Centre, go through the schools gate and turn left.
The AirSpace building is the large building in front of you. A member
of the museum staff will meet you at the entrance to AirSpace at the
start time for your tour.
Location: Eating Space (or outside if the weather is nice)
AirSpace Hangar.
Go through the doors and turn right after the Polaris nuclear missile.
Follow the path with the dots, at the end go left. You will see toilets,
then the doors to the Eating Space.
Your session
Creative and Destructive Forces is a 60-minute tour of our AirSpace gallery, which
holds a wide range of civil and military aircraft and is an ideal place to look at
developments in flight science and how they can be applied both in times of war
and in everyday life. Students will find out how an aeroplane wing can dry your
hands, how a melting chocolate bar led to the invention of the microwave oven and
how technological developments used in weapons of war lead to everyday
commercial and social applications. The tour will showcase key artefacts of aviation
and military history and include interactive handling of selected collection pieces.
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Key Stage 3/4: Creative and Destructive Forces
Non-Specialist Guide to Aircraft at IWM Duxford
This guide is to help you to answer some of the basic questions you and your
children might have about the aircraft you will see at IWM Duxford.
Types of Aircraft
All aeroplanes are aircraft but not all aircraft are aeroplanes. An aircraft is any craft
that travels in the air, including balloons and airships as well as aeroplanes,
helicopters and missiles. Aircraft can be divided into two main categories: heavierthan-air craft and lighter-than-air craft.
Lighter-than-air craft float in the air. Hot air balloons, gas filled balloons and gas
filled airships are the main examples of lighter-than-air craft. There are no complete
examples of such aircraft at IWM Duxford, but you can see the gondola of Richard
Branson’s hot air balloon in AirSpace and there is a packed Second World War
barrage balloon in Hangar 4.
Heavier-than-air craft can be rotary wing or fixed wing.
o Rotary wing helicopters (from the Greek helix – spiral and pteron – wing)
have a set of blades which act like wings but also rotate to allow the aircraft
to lift vertically.
o Fixed wing aeroplanes have wings that do not move, although aeroplanes
such as the F-111E in the American Air Museum have “swing wings” which
allow the pilot to change the wing shape.
Parts of an aeroplane
o The fuselage (from a French word for spindle) is the long main section of the
aeroplane. Apart from supporting everything else, it is the load carrying part
for the passengers, cargo or weapons and of course the pilot.
o The wing or mainplane is attached to the fuselage in two symmetrical halves.
Technically a monoplane has only one wing and a biplane two, although
most people will talk about an aeroplane’s “wings”. The wing provides
upward force or lift, while ailerons (moveable surfaces) on the wing are used
to control side-to-side movement or “roll”.
o The tailplane or horizontal stabiliser is like a small wing at the back of the
plane. The elevators (more moveable surfaces) on the tailplane allow the
pilot to control the up and down movement or “pitch” of the aeroplane.
o The tailfin or vertical stabiliser sticks up vertically from the tail of the
aeroplane. The rudder on the fin allows the pilot to control the left and right
movement or “yaw”.
o The undercarriage supports the aeroplane when it is on the ground and
usually has wheels and springs attached.
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Key Stage 3/4: Creative and Destructive Forces
Aeroplane Engines
The engine provides thrust to push the aeroplane forward, which in turn provides lift
from the wing. You will see two main types of engine at Duxford: piston engines
with airscrew propellers and gas turbines with jet propellers.
A piston engine is similar to that used in most road vehicles, but in an aeroplane it
drives the airscrew. An airscrew is the set of twisted blades which push the air back
as it spins, thrusting the aeroplane forward.
A gas turbine engine is a tube through which air is forced to create thrust. The air
is sucked in at the front, squeezed into a small space, mixed with fuel and ignited to
make it expand and blown out of the narrow jet pipe at the rear.
At IWM Duxford there are some aeroplanes such as the Britannia with gas turbines
which drive airscrew propellers. These are usually called “turboprops”.
Types of aeroplane
At IWM Duxford the biggest collection is of military aircraft which fall into several
main categories including fighter, bomber, reconnaissance and transport.
o Fighters are small, fast and highly manoeuvrable. They usually have forward
facing guns, often set within the wing. Most of the aeroplanes in Hangar 2 are
fighters.
o Bombers are usually large, with space in the fuselage to carry the bombs
which are dropped from beneath through bomb doors. Many bombers such
as the Lancaster in AirSpace have gun turrets for defence against fighters.
o Reconnaissance aircraft are usually small with facilities for observers,
cameras etc. They were often modified fighters although many have been
purpose built, such as the SR-71 “Blackbird” in the American Air Museum.
o Transport aircraft are used to carry troops and supplies. The Hastings in
AirSpace is a good example.
o Multi-role aircraft such as the F-111 perform two or more of the roles above
and are more common in modern air forces.
IWM Duxford also has an extensive collection of commercial aircraft ranging from
early airliners such as the Dragon Rapide to the first jet airliner, the Comet, and
Concorde, the only supersonic airliner in commercial service.
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Key Stage 3/4: Creative and Destructive Forces