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Daring Flight, A

Viewing Ideas  Print this Teacher's Guide (PDF, 7 pages)

Before Watching

1. Help students locate Calais, France; Dover, England; and the English Channel on a map. Trace Blériot's famous Channel crossing. Use the map's scale to determine the distance across the English Channel. (It is about 39 kilometers, and Blériot took 36 minutes to cross.) Have students calculate Blériot's average speed for the trip. (It was about 60 km/hr.)

2. As students watch, have them collect information for the "Blériot's Inventions" activity.

After Watching

1. Ask students to contrast Blériot's experimental method with that of the Wright Brothers. What was Blériot's approach? (He built and tested a variety of planes.) What allowed him to pursue this method? (He had the necessary funding to build multiple planes.) How did the Wright Brothers design their planes? (They methodically tested and refined their ideas.)

2. Have students compare what it was like flying early aircraft like the Blériot models to today's aircraft. (In early models, pilots were completely exposed to the elements, had no electronic controls, had no ground communication, and used unsteady wing warping to control roll. Today's pilots fly in enclosed cockpits, have sophisticated navigation systems, use radio and are tracked by radar, and rely on stable ailerons to control roll.)