Military Aircraft

Before this unit, the boys had been mostly into Commercial Aircraft, but Sam had always loved military aircraft when he was young (and still) :), and once we read about them, we loved them too! The capabilities of the fighter jets, the bombers, and the stealth planes are just amazing—and of course, we only know about the stuff that has been declassified! I find it fascinating to see of all the technological innovations that have happened in just the last half-century.

This document was very useful for learning WHY military planes are called what they're called. Knowing that "F" is for "fighter" and "B" is for "bomber" and "X" is for "experimental" aircraft goes a long way to helping you remember which planes are which!

You can find lots of documentaries on YouTube telling about the various military aircraft (we aren't the only ones who find them fascinating, obviously!). We chose some of our favorite aircraft to watch videos about, but there were many more we didn't have time for. We especially liked
This one, about the SR-71 Blackbird,
This one, about the F-14 fighter jet
This one, about the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
This one, about the huge C-5 Galaxy. (We got to go inside one of these at the Point Mugu Air Show!)

This DVD from the library was fascinating, as well. I love aircraft carriers! Just the thought of landing a jet on one of those tiny moving targets in the middle of a heaving ocean fills me with dread, but I'm glad there are pilots who thrive on it! It's cool to see how the catapults work, and the arresting hooks that help them stop.

We also learned more about some of the weapons the military uses. Here's a site about laser-guided bombs that we found helpful.