WACO GLIDER PROJECT

 

Project Description

Build a 30-inch wingspan model of the Waco CG-4, the famed U.S. combat glider of WWII. Gliders will be student-judged for “best looking.” Gliders will also compete in a flying contest. Along with out-of-class building, students will research one of three topics and write a short paper.

 

Purpose

History is more than mental exercise; it is also tactile and experiential. The models students build will link their research papers to history. The troop-carrying glider stands a facet of history that inspires inquiry about war, society, and industry. furthermore, the building and flying component of the project is interdisciplinary. Students will discover fundamentals of aerodynamics that apply to both models and full-size aircraft.

 

Cost

This project costs about $10.

 

Research Topics

Students will pick one of the following topics:

 

Ø          Glider operations: Sicily (1943), Normandy (1944), or Operation Market Garden (1944)

 

Ø          Glider construction.

 

Ø          Glider pilot training

 

Paper Requirements

 

Two of you four references must be print sources. The other two may come from the Internet. See “Sources” below for starters. Reference you papers using quick reference from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition. Information on margins, font, paragraphs, etc, will follow book paper guidelines found on Livingston’s Homepage. Three pages means the paper will end somewhere on the third page. The paper will be 2 pages of text. Put maps, tables, and other matter in appendices.

            

Grading—Airplane Model

Component	Points
Finish model in time for looks contest	6
Enter model in flying contest	4
TOTAL	10

 

Grading—Research Paper

Component	Points
Mechanics and style	3
Name block, title, and pagination correct	1
Paper ends on third page	1
Introduction: Main argument or “thesis”	3
Body	10
Conclusion	2
TOTAL (research paper)	20
TOTAL (including model)	30

 

Key Dates

See syllabus.

 

Sources (something to start with)

Internet

 

Building and Flying the Waco CG-4A. http://www.stevelange. net/waco/ links.html.

 

              Great collection of web links about our gliders.

 

Book and Articles

 

Dank, Milton. The Glider Gang: An Eyewitness History of World War II Glider Combat.

 

Esvelin, Philippe. D-Day Gliders.

 

Masters, Charles. Glidermen of Neptune: The American D-Day Glider Attack.

 

Monday, Travis. Wings, Wasps, and Warriors.

 

              Front cover has a crashed glider.

 

Nordyke, Phil. All American All the Way: The Comabt history of the 82nd Airborne Division in WWII.

 

Richlak, Jerry. Glide to Glory.

 

Thole, Lou. Forgotten Fieldw: World War II Training Bases Then and Now. 3 vols.

 

Turner, Dave. World War II Glider Pilots.