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Flight

This topic covers the principles of flight, aeronautics, spaceflight, how birds and insects fly, kites, and the science behind feathers and wings. Also included is the history of aviation from the Wright brothers to today’s aircraft. SCIS no. 1816049

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Richard Pearse

History tells us that the Wright brothers were the first to invent the aeroplane in December 1903 however, it might have been Richard Pearse who built and flew the world’s first powered aeroplane. ...

Auckland wingsuit flight was 'beautiful'

Auckland wingsuit flight was 'beautiful'

A Kiwi has completed the first-ever freefall wingsuit flight above Auckland.

Flight and Flying

Flight and Flying

This Digital NZ set provides a collection of flight related resources.

Flight to Venus

Flight to Venus

A claymation anti-nuclear film during which an earth man flies a rocket to Venus.

Freedom flight

Story of two beautiful kites allowed to fly free.

Kingfisher call

The speed of a kingfisher or kōtare when diving on moving prey is legendary.

Returning after a flight

Returning after a flight

Two pilots returning after a flight.

Flight

Gannets

A photograph of gannets in flight.

The Tasman road

The Tasman road

Advertising poster shows a flying boat, the ZK-AME, in flight, in front of a globe turned to show the arrowed route between Australia and New Zealand (specifically Sydney and Auckland).

Jetpack flight offered on Trademe

Jetpack flight offered on Trademe

The concept of the Martin Jetpack was developed by Glenn Martin in 1981. However, as good things take time, it was 24 years before a prototype was made. This invention starred with James Bond in th...

Flightseeing

The photograph shows the pilot of a small float-plane helping two tourists out of the plane onto a sandy beach at Lake Te Anau. The plane has the Mount Cook lily, symbol of Mount Cook Airlines, on ...

New Year wishes

New Year wishes

A New Year postcard showing four little angels or cupids, three of them shopping at a stall selling red hearts.

100 Years of flight

An interactive timeline that looks at the advances and history of flight from 1900.

Solar Impulse 2 lands in California

An experimental plane flew around the world without a single drop of fuel.

Understanding flight

The desire to fly is as old as human culture. Ancient Egyptians studied birds in an attempt to learn how to fly.

Nature inspired design

A photograph showing similarities between a Peregrine falcon and a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit airplane.

Is it a bird? Is It a plane?

Presents images of modern aircraft.

Was New Zealander, Richard Pearse the first person to fly a plane?

Outlines different aspects of the history of flight.

Why can’t humans fly like birds?

What would it take for humans to fly like birds?

How bird wings work

Slow motion examination of how birds fly.

The Evolution of flight

A documentary that looks at the evolution of flight from the time of the dinosaurs.

Presents a range of activities and experiments connected with air and flight.

The Mastery of flight

Attenborough investigates how birds have adapted to the air space and perfected the skills needed to fly.

The Wright brothers

On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright became the first to make a controlled and sustained flight.

How do birds fly?

An animation that investigates how birds fly.

14 Animal-inspired inventions

These 14 examples of biomimicry based on animal and human biology illustrate the wonderful adaptations of nature.

Man flies like a bird

Did this inventor achieve man powered flight like a bird, or is it a fake?

A robot that flies like a bird

Plenty of robots can fly — but none can fly like a real bird.

Nature inspired aviation inventions

Engineers look to the natural world for breakthroughs in aviation design.

Birds and biomimicry

Students learn how humans use nature to solve problems and invent solutions

Flying bionic bird

Presenting the world's 1st smartphone controlled bionic bird.

Birds and people

The study of birds has global implications.

Feather biology

Looks at the science behind flight and feathers.

The Frigate bird

What can the Frigate bird teach us about flight?

Eastern bar-tailed godwits

Eastern bar-tailed godwits

Migration route of the Eastern bar-tailed godwits.

Drones, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), droids and flying robots are fast becoming the latest must-have technology.

Physical World – Forces

Flight explores the physics fundamentals of gravity, lift, drag and thrust – using birds and planes as the context