Aircraft Building Challenge

• Paper model template

• Instruction sheet

• Thumbtack

• 1” binder clip

• Scissors

• Glue stick

• Markers

During World War II, Colditz Castle in German Saxony was used as a prisoner of war camp. Built on rocks high above the town of Colditz and overlooking the valley of the River Mulde, the huge structure seemed the ideal place for a high security prison. The inmates proved that this was a mistake. Between 1939 and 1945 there was a constant battle of wits between Allied officers and German guards that turned Colditz Castle into an international “Escape School”. Over 300 daring escape attempts earned “Oflag IV c” (Officers’ Camp IV c, Colditz) the reputation of a bad boys’ camp and made the Castle notorious. Allied Officers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Serbia, South Africa and the USA were imprisoned in the old castle.

Flying Officer Bill Goldfinch, a British prisoner of war, designed a small glider for an escape. Fellow prisoners built it using materials in the camp. Floorboards became wing spars, the ribs and frame were made from bed slats and control lines were electrical wires, all stealthily obtained. The covering was cotton, which came from sleeping bags sealed with slurry-type paste made by boiling down prison ration millet.

1. Read instructions and take the template.

2. Cut the parts layout section from each photocopy, as indicated on the page, to fit a 5 x 8 inch standard index card. Lightly glue the layouts to the card by applying a small spot of glue to the areas between the parts on the rear side, being careful to align the two parts.

3. Before beginning to cut out the parts, score those parts that will need to be bent later and cut opening slits where indicated. Score and cut precisely on the lines.

4. Cut out each part shown. This must be done carefully since the success or failure of every other step depends on accurately made parts. Keep track of the parts by lightly writing the part number in pencil on the backside of each part.

5. Build the glider. Begin with the 1F fuselage part, adding the other smaller parts to each side to complete the fuselage. Align parts carefully. Add drawing decoration when the glue is dry.

Important challenges limited early experiments with helicopters. In particular, suitable engines did not exist in the early years. This was a problem that was not to be overcome until the beginning of the 20th century by the development of internal combustion (gasoline) powered engines. Even then, it was not until the mid-1920s that engines with sufficient power, and with the high power-to-weight ratios suitable for vertical flight became more widely available.

Early engines were made of cast iron and were too heavy for helicopters. Aluminum, a common material used on modern aircraft, was available commercially around 1890, but was extremely expensive. Aluminum was not widely used in aeronautical applications until 1920.

While many additional factors contributed in some way to the lack of progress in achieving successful vertical flight, the development of a practical helicopter had to wait until engine technology could be refined to the point that lightweight engines with considerable power could be built. By 1920, gasoline powered piston engines with higher power-to-weight ratios were more widely available. It then became possible to begin to solve the control problems of vertical flight. The era after 1920 is marked by the development of a vast number of prototype helicopters throughout the world.