The Aeronautics Education Laboratory was designed and built by NASA for students in the SEMAA program. The AEL is a series of workstations where the students conduct experiments and gather data on the principles of flight.

Aircraft Design Station
Researchers assigned to this station will be challenged to redesign an existing commercial jetliner. Using a computer-aided design (CAD) program, students will design a new aircraft that will reduce flight time, cut fuel cost and lower the price of plane tickets for airline passengers. Successful designs may be forwarded to NASA for review.

Wind Tunnel Station
The student researchers assigned to this station have an oportunity to observe how a real wind tunnel operates and how it is used in aeronautical research. Students will perform experiments that will allow them to test the lift and stall characteristics of an airfoil mounted inside the wind tunnel. Later using a computer based wind tunnel simulation they perform a detailed analysis of the lift characteristics of the airfoil.

Flight Planning
Students assigned to this station will use actual flight planning software to determine the flight route and to calculate the distance, flight time and the amount of fuel needed to complete the proposed cross-country flight.

Flight Simulator
Pilots assigned to this workstation will climb into the pilot seat of a Beechcraft King Air turbo and take off from NASA headquarters in Clevland, Ohio. The students learn to take off and land successfully and then move on to the airport at Raleigh-Durham where they can plan a flight to any place in North Carolina. They learn to use the compass for navigation and then some advanced instrumentation is used to help them navigate to their destination. We say you can really "Learn to Fly Here" at this work station!

Aeronautics Interactive
Student researchers will utilize a specially designed computer program to research significant advances in aeronautics. Later, students will use the software to gain valuable information about aerospace careers.

Resource Center
The resource center has a computer dedicated to the design of the worlds greatest paper airplanes. Students at this station are challenged to build a paper airplane that will fly far and stay aloft for a long time.

Remote Sensing
Research at this station will include the detailed analysis of aerial and satellite photographs of maps from the Clevland area. Students will compare each image to maps of the Clevland area and Northeastern Ohio to gain an in-depth understanding of the importance of remote sensing technologies.

GPS / Communications
Using a sophisticated amateur radio receiver and a hand held global positioning system (GPS), student researchers will be able to tune into actual broadcast between air traffic controllers and arriving/departing aircraft. Students learn to read and interpret the aviation sectional charts/maps that pilots use to determine the latitude and longitude of selected airports along their cross-country flight route.

Weather Station
Researchers assigned to this workstation will go outside to make estimates of the current local weather conditions and deploy sophisticated weather data-gathering equipment. Later, they will use information gathered from a series of remote weather tracking stations to monitor weather conditions across the US including air pressure, temperature and wind velocity. Student researchers will even have access to up to the minute satellite imagery to help them gather detailed weather information along the flight route.

Using the Internet for Research & Planning
Student researchers at this workstation will use the internet to gather important information about each of NASA's aeronautics research facilities. These team members will also use the internet to make hotel and restaurant reservations for the entire group at each stop along the flight route and also at their final destination.