Article
MICHAEL ROSS-CUNNINGHAM

Fly Girl

How a teen athlete pulls off amazing stunts in midair

By Jennifer Barone
From the September 2022 Issue

Learning Objective: Students will investigate, model, and explain how an indoor skydiver controls her motion.

Lexile: 790L; 600L
Guided Reading Level: T
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Sydney Kennett is a four-time U.S. junior national champion in indoor skydiving.

Wind rushes past Sydney Kennett as she soars above the ground. The 16-year-old spins and twists elegantly through the air. She’s a competitive skydiver—but she’s never jumped out of an airplane!

Sydney, who lives in Colorado, is one of the world’s top athletes in the sport of indoor skydiving, also known as bodyflight. These competitors perform stunts inside a wind tunnel. That’s a big tube with fans that create powerful jets of air.

Sydney first flew at age 4. Her dad, an experienced outdoor skydiver, took her to an indoor skydiving facility. Sydney doesn’t recall much from that first flight. But her next one, at age 8, was unforgettable! Soon after, she joined a flight program for kids and began competing. In the tunnel, Sydney says, “I let go of all my worries and just fly.”

Wind rushes past Sydney Kennett. The 16-year-old soars above the ground. She spins and twists through the air. She’s a skydiver. But she’s never jumped out of a plane! 

Sydney lives in Colorado. She’s a top athlete in the sport of indoor skydiving. It’s also known as bodyflight. Sydney performs stunts. She does them inside a wind tunnel. That’s a big tube with fans. They create powerful jets of air. 

Sydney first flew at age 4. Her dad took her to an indoor skydiving facility. He’s an outdoor skydiver. Sydney doesn’t remember much from that first flight. Her next one was at age 8. That time was unforgettable! Sydney joined a flight program for kids soon after. She began competing. In the tunnel, Sydney says, “I let go of all my worries and just fly.”

WAN COWIE PHOTOGRAPHY

Sydney (left) and a teammate perform a two-person flight in competition.

Taking Flight

Wind tunnels are designed to imitate the experience of outdoor skydiving. When a skydiver leaps from an airplane, two main forces control the person’s fall, says Narit Pidokrajt. He’s a physicist at the University of Borås in Sweden. Gravity pulls the skydiver toward Earth. At the same time, air pushes up against the skydiver’s body. That creates air resistance. This force, also called drag, opposes the force of gravity.

At first, the skydiver falls faster and faster. But after a while, the forces of gravity and drag even out, says Pidokrajt. The skydiver continues falling. But now that the forces of gravity and drag are balanced, the person falls at a speed that doesn’t change. Closer to the ground, the skydiver opens a parachute. That increases air resistance. The skydiver slows to a safe speed for landing.

Wind tunnels copy the feeling of outdoor skydiving. An outdoor skydiver leaps from a plane. Then two main forces control how the person falls, says Narit Pidokrajt. He’s a physicist at the University of Borås in Sweden. Gravity pulls the skydiver toward Earth. Air pushes up against the skydiver’s body at the same time. That creates air resistance. This force is also called drag. It works against the force of gravity. 

The skydiver falls faster and faster at first. But the forces of gravity and drag even out after a while, says Pidokrajt. The skydiver keeps falling. But the person falls at a speed that doesn’t change. That’s because the forces acting on them are balanced. The skydiver opens a parachute as they near the ground. That adds air resistance. The skydiver slows to a safe speed for landing. 

Inside a wind tunnel, giant fans pull air toward the ceiling at a constant speed. That creates air resistance similar to what a skydiver would experience outdoors (see Inside a Wind Tunnel). When Sydney holds her body flat, gravity and air resistance are balanced. Sydney’s motion doesn’t change. She hovers above the ground.

Giant fans pull air toward the ceiling inside a wind tunnel. That creates air resistance like what a skydiver would feel outdoors (see Inside a Wind Tunnel). Gravity and air resistance balance out when Sydney lies flat. Sydney’s motion doesn’t change. She hovers above the ground.

Dancing on Air

Sydney’s main competitive bodyflight event is called freestyle. In this event, athletes complete a set of required moves, like twists and splits. They also have to perform an artistic routine. Judges rate the routine’s difficulty and the athlete’s overall performance.

In the wind tunnel, Sydney can move up or down by adjusting her posture. To drop down, she can pull in her arms and legs or hug her knees. When her body forms a more compact shape, air resistance weakens. Gravity takes over, and she falls lower. 

Sydney’s main bodyflight contest is called freestyle. It’s where athletes do a set of specific moves, like twists and splits. They also must perform an artistic routine. Judges rate the routine’s difficulty. They also rate the athlete’s overall performance.

Sydney can move up or down by changing her body position in the wind tunnel. She can pull in her arms and legs or hug her knees to drop down. Air resistance lessens when her body forms a smaller shape. Then gravity takes over, and she falls lower. 

BELARUSIAN FEDERATION OF AIR SPORTS

Sydney is able to fly upside down, one of the most difficult moves.

Extending her limbs lets Sydney catch more wind. A lot of air pushing against her can create lift. This upward force pushes Sydney higher. Other movements allow her to flip, spin, and fly in a loop.

Sydney has taken the sport by storm. In her first world championship, at age 12, she earned a bronze medal in junior freestyle. She was named the U.S. Indoor Skydiving junior freestyle national champion four years in a row.

Sydney trains in the tunnel twice a week. She loves the sheer joy of defying gravity. “It just makes me super happy,” she says. 

Putting out her arms and legs lets Sydney catch more wind. A lot of air pushing against her can create lift, an upward force. It pushes Sydney higher. Other motions allow her to flip, spin, and fly in a loop. 

Sydney has taken the sport by storm. She performed in her first world championship at age 12. She earned a bronze medal in junior freestyle. She was named the U.S. Indoor Skydiving junior freestyle national champion four years in a row. 

Sydney trains in the tunnel twice a week. She loves the sheer joy of defying gravity. “It just makes me super happy,” she says. 

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Answer Key (1)
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan

1. ENGAGE: Make observations and predictions about indoor skydiving.

  • Play the video “Indoor Skydiver Sydney Kennett,” which shows a teen skydiver in action. Ask students: How do you think she’s able to stay up in the air? Does gravity affect her? If so, how? Encourage students to explain their thinking.

2. EXPLORE: Read the article and use a video to visualize key science terms like lift.

  • Read the article aloud, summarizing each section after reading it. Write the words gravity, lift, and drag on the board. Discuss and draw a model of each term. 
  • Play the video “Up in the Air” and discuss where students can see evidence of those three forces. Have students complete the article’s Quick Quiz.

3. EXPLAIN: Carry out an investigation and record data

  • Hand out the How Fast Does It Fall? hands-on activity and have student pairs complete the investigation. Note: The vertical paper and crumpled paper should fall faster than the horizontal paper. Make sure students aren’t holding the paper directly against the wall while they are testing. 
  • You can use the video “Science in a Snap” to preview the experiment’s setup with your students. Reconvene after they have completed the investigation. Then record their data on the board and discuss their results.

4. EXTEND: Draw and interpret a diagram of forces.

  • Project the diagram Forces of Falling (p. 9). On the board, draw a circle (to represent the crumpled paper), a horizontal line (to represent the flat paper), and a vertical line (to represent the paper held vertically). Work with students to add blue downward arrows to represent gravity and red upward arrows for drag, showing how these forces affect each falling paper. 
  • Reiterate that gravity pulls on each piece of paper with the same amount of force—but the papers don’t reach the ground at the same time. Ask questions like: What does that tell you about the drag acting on each paper? (It’s different—the horizontal paper experienced the most drag.) What causes that difference? (The shape and position of the paper affects the drag. For example, the flat, horizontal paper had more surface for the air to hit, so it experienced the most drag.
  • Ask students: Which paper best represents a parachute? Why? Let students think before sharing in pairs and then discuss as a class.

5. EVALUATE: Describe the forces affecting Sydney’s performance, applying new knowledge.

  • Rewatch the video “Indoor Skydiver Sydney Kennett,” pausing to discuss forces affecting her and how she controls her motion. Remind students that scientists change their thinking when they get new evidence. Ask students to share how their understanding of the video has changed since they first watched it, as they have learned new information.
  • As an extension, have students complete the My Day Flying skills sheet and read their story to a partner.

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