Aeronautics Project
Skylap project taps into the fascination of flight, motivating students to develop their own aircraft design. How much lift does it achieve? How fast is it? How do small modifications affect its flight behaviour? The only way to find out is to test it on the PowerAnchor. Students begin by making a simple aircraft and test it for speed, weight and lift. The results become a baseline for further modifications. Deliver this project in three levels: basic, intermediate or advanced.
Key concepts: Lift, payload, control surfaces, drag, speed, angle of attack, aspect ratio, analysing graphs, making, design process.
Resources needed: PowerAnchor, 5m diameter of space, Skylap class pack, online content.
Class Pack: All the materials and parts needed to make 25 Skylap planes plus modifications. 25 motors with propellers, 25 sticks of balsa 400mm long, 50 pieces of flat balsa 100mm x 400mm, 25 plane connector sets, 50 motor cables, 50 light weight wheels, 25 axles. Class Pack $495
Pulley Driven Car Project
Race & Chase challenges students to set up stunts and races using easy to make cars. They will need to gain an understanding of gear ratios to optimise their vehicle for the performance they need. Set up ramps for jumps and power challenges. There are such a wide variety of design options to explore and test. Deliver this project in three levels: basic, intermediate or advanced.
Key Concepts: Gear ratio, payload, drag, speed, friction, analysing graphs, making, design process.
Resources needed: PowerAnchor, 5m diameter of space, Skylap class pack, online content.
Class Pack: All the materials and parts needed to make 25 Race & Chase vehicles plus modifications. 25 motors, 25 pulley sets, 50 motor cables, 100 grip wheels, 50 axles, 50 pieces of coreflute, 25 car connector sets.
Propeller Driven Car Project
Propeller driven cars were never going to be a real thing, but in the PowerAnchor world there is plenty to learn from designing and testing these vehicles. This project is all about making modifications and design in order to achieve the desired vehicle performance. Students get to know the principles of dynamics and the relationships between variables. Deliver this project in three levels: basic, intermediate or advanced.
Key concepts: Payload, drag, propeller design, speed, acceleration, dependent variables, analysing graphs, making, design process.
Resources needed: PowerAnchor, 5m diameter of space, Skylap class pack, online content.
Class pack: All the materials and parts needed to make 25 Helicar vehicles plus modifications. 25 motors with propellers, 50 motor cables, 50 axles, 100 light weight wheels, 25 car connector sets, 50 pieces of coreflute.
Flying Car Project
Students are given a standard coreflute base with motor, propeller, axles and wheels and the challenge is to make it fly on the PowerAnchor. They can use any extra materials being careful of adding too much weight. Aerocar is almost completely open-ended; a challenge for testing and modification. It’s not easy, but the goal always seems within reach. Analysis and tenacity are needed as there is no guarantee of success.
Key concepts: Lift, control surfaces, drag, speed, centre of mass, angle of attack, ground effect, design process.
Resources needed: PowerAnchor, 5m diameter of space, Skylap class pack, online content.
Class Pack: All the materials and parts needed to make 25 Aerocar bases. 25 motors with propellers, 25 pieces of coreflute, 100 light weight wheels, 50 axles.
The PowerAnchor project profile
Easy build
Projects are easy to make, keeping the focus on testing and modifying. Initial designs are simple but open the opportunity for greater complexity.
High engagement
Purposeful making and testing is the ideal driver for student engagement. With the added element of competition, motivation takes off.
Classroom ready
Projects are fully resourced with online content, graphing tools and a ready supply of project materials.
Infinite variation
There is no limit to the number of design solutions students can develop. Projects are all about making variations.
Range of levels
Projects are written for a range of levels from a Year 4 fun experience to rigorous Year 11 Engineering.
Reusable parts
The range of push on connectors means that making is fast, easy, safe and parts are reusable. Re-order only what you need.
Rapid feedback
Testing and modification is fast and easy to allow for multiple tests. Rapid feedback is key to making good design decisions.
Best practice STEM
All projects are certified by STEM.org, internationally recognised as the standard setter for best practice STEM.
Online content
Students login to access project notes, research tasks, data analysis tools and folio outline.
