School Newsletter Volume 9 Edition 6.pdf - Highcliffe School

s c ienc e
On April 22 nd , Heidi
Barnett, Natalie
Martin, Josh Harris,
Jack Kelly and
James O’Callaghan,
represented Highcliffe
at HMS
Collingwood for
the 2010 Engineering
in Education
Scheme, Celebration
and Assessment
Day (CAD).
Engineering in Education
The team had spent the past 6
months working on a project for
STEMNET
Wednesday afternoons have been
design and engineering afternoons
with the STEMNET group in our
mission to design and build our
own hovercraft. What seemed to
be a fairly straightforward design
brief has proven to be a demanding
task. It has required an in-depth
understanding of the mechanics of
hovercraft propulsion, practical
skills to assemble components and
computer know-how to guide the
CAD process of producing a hovercraft
hull that not only houses motor
units, propellers, batteries and
Curriculum
the Royal Navy to design and
manufacture a device to measure
wireless electronics , but also looks
aesthetically pleasing and is able to
generate sufficient lift to move the
craft efficiently. The task has therefore
been broken
down into
two main areas
of activity; skirt
design and
chassis design.
We have tested
several different
types of
skirt with a variety
of propel-
lers to generate
the air pressure
needed for
proper inflation
the valve erosion in a frigate engine.
The whole process has consisted of
a launch day back in October at the
University of Southampton, a 3-day
residential in December at the university
and culminated in the assessment
day in April.
At the CAD the team were required
to make a 15 minute presentation
to naval personnel, including engineers,
about their project and final
product. After this they were required
to prepare a display stand
so that people (including naval
commanders!) could come and quiz
them about the project.
The whole day was a real success
and will hopefully result in gaining
Gold CREST awards and a place at
the regional final of the Big Bang
event at Bath University. Watch
this space!
Report by Miss Berkeley
and locomotion. This has been
linked to a CAD exercise to produce
a chassis that is light, able to generate
sufficient lift and still has room
This skirt works…but what will happen when it
has to support the weight of a proper chassis?!!