Engineering and Physics Trip
Course Director of KS5 Engineering, Ms James, tells us more: “On Wednesday 15th January, students from Year 12 Physics and Engineering visited the Tesla Showroom, Stockport, and Concorde at Manchester Airport.
At Tesla, we learnt about some of the features of their cars such as how they are designed to have the highest safety levels by adding weaknesses in the metal where it is designed to fail in the event of a crash. Students were also allowed to look around and test the cars. The part of the cars the students enjoyed the most were the games in the car where you could use the steering wheel as a game controller!
At the airport we were given a talk about the history of the airport and how it has developed over the years, and how it might look in the future. Following this, students were able to go into the cockpit of an old Monarch aircraft while others watched the double decker engineering marvel, the Airbus A380 take off. We then went into an old test aircraft where our guide showed us the internals and wiring that goes into making an aircraft. It helped engineering students understand the complexity which goes into making an aircraft. Finally we went to Concorde, the only commercial supersonic passenger jet. Most students were amazed how small the windows were which were engineered to work with higher pressures as it flew at a higher altitude than a normal aircraft. Physics students saw features engineered to allow the aircraft to fly, such as a small line of metal at the front of the plane to allow airflow to move the plane’s controls when the plane was landing. Overall the students loved the trip and had a great day out.”
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