On April 3, the AP Physics, AP Bio, AP Calc BC and College Algebra classes at Manitou Springs High School visited iFLY to experience indoor skydiving and receive lessons on physics and parachutes.
Before flying, the students got a lesson on the aerodynamics of various objects. The application of the physics was explained while simultaneously objects were tossed into the flying tube. These objects included various balls, toys and a pitcher of water.
Andy Honigbaum was the flight instructor for the MSHS classes at iFLY. He has been a competitor in skydiving for over 20 years, he won multiple world championships and he is national champion. “I just kind of retired from competitive skydiving,” he said. “I have a teenage daughter who loves to fly, so I like doing this for the family and taking first time flyers.”
Some days Honigbaum will instruct up to six indoor skydiving lessons in one day. “At this point in my career, because I’ve been doing this for 30 years, taking first time flyers and young groups like this is the part I’m most passionate about,” he said. “This just made my week because the MSHS class was so good, and everybody had a good time.”
Quinn Scott (11) felt nervous before flying, but quickly found himself enjoying it. “Going in the tunnel was super cool,” Scott said. “I was terrified, absolutely terrified, before I flew. I didn’t know how stable it was going to be, but it turned out to be good. I wanted to go back afterwards.”
Honigbaum feels that he can relive his first experiences flying vicariously through younger first time flyers he teaches. “We don’t always make a lot of eye contact, because for safety, I need to be at your side; but a lot of times they’ll do well enough where I can step out in front,” he said, “and when they start getting things, their faces just light up. It’s like, I remember that feeling 30 years ago, it’s fresh.”
Nate Owen, a math teacher at MSHS, has taken his students to iFLY for years. “I like to take my physics class on an experiential learning trip. This one I’ve done for a few years in a row now,” he said. “This year and last year, I took some Manitou students to iFLY. We talked about air resistance and cross sectional area in my physics class, so it’s really good to see some of the differential equations that we talk about in action.”
Owen believes that iFLY will likely become the annual field trip for the AP Physics class.
After the students flew, another instructor at iFLY provided a detailed lesson on parachuting and the functions of various parts of a parachute. “Mel was able to do a lesson on parachuting after skydiving. I thought that was a really cool experience, and she did a great job explaining both the physics and the applications of it that goes into building parachutes. She also talked about how the mechanisms work within the parachuting apparatus,” Owen said. “I thought that was a unique experience that my students had never gotten before, and I think the students really enjoyed it as well.”
Owen believes the real life applications of his lessons outside of class can be very informative for his students. “Getting students to appreciate the math that we talk about and the physics that we talk about in the classroom in a real life lab exposure is really great for them,” he said. “For me as the teacher, I really want to get my students to see more and more of the applications that they are learning about in the classroom.”
