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Friday, February 19, 2021

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics are crucial for the development of our youth, communities, and country. Fortunately, model aviation and the disciplines it represents are perfectly suited to teaching these principles in fun and exciting ways.

Sir George Cayley, often called the Father of Aeronautics, designed a helicopter powered by a bow-string mechanism with feather blades (similar to the reproduction shown here). Later, he experimented by flying a model with multiple adjustable surfaces, allowing him to understand how every change affected the model’s flight. This model is a ½ scale replica of his original 1804 model. Cayley used the data from these experiments to publish his On Aerial Navigation in 1809.