Abstract:

This study presents an innovative, hands-on approach to teaching aerodynamics in an undergraduate aerospace engineering course, using a full-scale glider combined with mobile augmented reality (AR). The activity is implemented in the second year of the Aerospace Engineering degree, within the Aerodynamics course, and aligns with active learning, STEM education experiences, and technology-enhanced learning. In a hangar environment, students move through a sequence of physical stations around a real L-13 Blanik training glider. At each station, scanning a QR marker with a mobile device triggers an AR overlay that provides concise, physically descriptive explanations directly on top of the corresponding aircraft component, focusing on what students can see, touch and measure (geometry, control surfaces, structural features). These explanations are explicitly linked to and extend the concepts introduced through formal equations in regular lectures.

The AR interface combines short hints with extended conceptual panels and prompts students to take specific measurements (such as span, chord, surface areas, control deflections and weight-related data) directly on the aircraft using simple tools. This promotes an embodied understanding of key concepts and fosters informal peer discussion and collaborative problem solving in small groups. In a second phase, student teams use their own measurements as inputs for an aerodynamic analysis workflow based on XFLR5, an airfoil and wing analysis tool widely used in education and preliminary design. They build an approximate digital model of the training glider wing, determine key aerodynamic characteristics (aspect ratio, lift curve slope, drag polar, stall behaviour) and contrast these results with the qualitative understanding developed around the physical aircraft.

By closing the loop between physical exploration, AR-supported explanation and XFLR5-based analysis, the activity helps students connect aerodynamic coefficients and polars to real dimensions, masses and surfaces. The study will present the instructional design, the AR implementation, and the structure of the measurement and reflection tasks. Post-activity questionnaires, as well as student feedback, indicate increased engagement, and an improved ability to interpret and critically discuss analysis results, illustrating the potential of combining AR, real aircraft hardware and discipline-specific software in a single undergraduate learning experience.

Keywords:

Aerodynamics education, Augmented reality, Experiential learning.