O VOO LIVRE COMO CONTEÚDO DA EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA NA EDUCAÇÃO INFANTIL: DESCOBERTAS E DESAFIOS

This article reports and reflects on the teaching of hang gliding in Physical Education classes in kindergarten. We take this body practice as an object of teaching in articulation with the literary content explored by the group's teacher and the intense practice of adventure sports in the city, including free flight. Thus, we aim to provide a systematized knowledge about this content little explored by Physical Education, relating free flight to body experiences such as balance, running, jumping, fear and safety equipment. The activities took place in a kindergarten institution linked to a federal university in the context of the school Physical Education internship. Seventeen children between the ages of 5 and 6 years old participated directly in this teaching experiment, the class teacher, a daycare assistant, a pedagogy intern, a physical education teacher and 2 physical education interns. As a result we highlight that this teaching experience provided the children with the ability to identify and differentiate between paragliding hang gliding while experiencing balance / imbalance situations in high and low places, building toys, playing games and making contact with real equipment. The feelings of vertigo, fear, confidence, joy and security were experienced and objects of reflection together with the children in order to know, name and overcome them. Finally, we emphasize the importance of teacher education, the planning and teaching of adventure practices, as well as better knowing the subjects of this process.

Design and control of a cable-controlled haptic motion simulator

SUMMARYIn this work, we discuss the design, construction, and testing of a cable-controlled motion simulator for a Virtual Reality (VR) hang gliding environment. The system comprises a cable-controlled motion simulator, a joystick, a Lego™ direction sensor, and a VR environment. The motion simulator and joystick are built out of motors, pulleys, cables, and aluminum beams. The VR environment and motion simulator interact haptically with each other to give a realistic feel to the operator. A dynamic analysis is performed on the simulator to show the effect of gravity and the directional motion on the operator. A series of experiments are then performed to test the effectiveness of the cable-controlled simulator, and the results were very encouraging despite minor glitches with high-speed maneuvers.

Heart Rate Responses and Fluid Balance of Competitive Cross-Country Hang Gliding Pilots

Purpose:To evaluate the physiological challenges of competitive cross-country hang gliding.Methods:Seventeen experienced male pilots (age = 41 ± 9 y; mean ± SD) were fitted with a monitor that recorded heart rate and altitude at 0.5 Hz throughout a competitive fight. Fluid losses were evaluated by comparing pilot pre- and postfight mass.Results:The pilots’ displacement was 88.4 ± 43.7 km in 145.5 ± 49.4 min. Mean fight altitude was 1902 ± 427 m (range = 1363-2601 m) with a maximum altitude of 2925 ± 682 m (1870-3831 m). The mean in-fight heart rate of the pilots was 112 ± 11 bpm (64 ± 6% predicted HRmax). For all except one subject, heart rate was highest while launching (165 ± 12 bpm, 93 ± 7% predicted HRmax), followed by landing (154 ± 13 bpm, 87 ± 7% predicted HRmax). No statistically significant relationship was observed between heart rate during the launch and reported measures of state anxiety. Heart rate was inversely related (P < .01) to altitude for all pilots except one. Fluid loss during the fight was 1.32 ± 0.70 L, which approximated 0.55 L/h, while mean in-fight fluid consumption was 0.39 ± 0.44 L. Six pilots consumed no fluid during the fight.Conclusions:Even among experienced pilots, high heart rates are more a function of state anxiety than physical work demand. Fluid losses during fight are surprisingly moderate but pilots may still benefit from attending to fluid balance.