Air Activities Stage 5 Badge

How to earn your badge:

• Build a scale model from a plastic kit, plans or photographs.
• Explain the relationship between lift, drag, thrust and weight.
• Choose one of these activities:
  • Explain the basic principles of a piston engine, including the four-stroke cycle, with consideration of valve and ignition timing.
  • Explain the similarities and differences between a piston engine and a jet engine, covering the main parts and workings
• Explain how wind direction and strength is important in take-off and landing.
  • Explain how a wing gives lift and why a wing stalls.
• Explain how temperature and atmospheric pressure are measured in weather forecasting.
• Explain basic cloud types, how they are formed and why they’re relevant to air activities.
• Tell others about the duties of either:
  • an aircraft marshaller, demonstrating marshalling signals
  • a crew leader for a glider launch. Show their procedure and the signals they use.
• Complete the flight time calculation test:
  • Imagine you’re planning a cross-country flight of at least 60 nautical miles, at an air speed of 90 knots. What would the time of flight be, from an overhead starting point to another overhead destination? Your assessor will give you a head or tail wind to factor in when you’re working this out.
• Take part in a flight (for example in a light aircraft or glider) and point out the landmarks that you fly over on an aviation chart.
• Explain the purpose of a pre-flight checklist and the main items you would check.
• Find out about the different types of air traffic control services used at airfields and airports.
  • Explain how this would be different at a small local airfield compared to a large international airport.