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Make an aircraft poster

Find different aircraft pictures, then get crafty and design a poster.

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You’ll need

  • Big pieces of paper
  • Scissors
  • Coloured pens or pencils
  • Pens or pencils
  • Glue sticks
  • Craft materials (for example, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, stickers)
  • Pictures of various types of aircraft
  • Aircraft-related information sheets, leaflets, magazines

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There’s also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment including examples.
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.  
  • This is a great activity to run during an online session. Check out the advice on using Zoom and other popular digital platforms and the guidance on being safe online. 

Planning this activity

  • Choose a variety of aircraft types to explore. You can find some facts about different kinds of aircraft on this page. For stage 3 of the Air Activities staged activity badge, these should be unmanned (like drones). 
  • You could ask everyone to choose an aircraft ahead of time and bring in a picture and a few facts. They can use books, the internet, magazines - or even their own photos from trips to airfields or museums. 

Running this activity

  1. Gather everyone in a group and explain that they’ll be learning about different types of aircraft and then making posters to share on one specific aircraft they like the most. 
  2. Ask everyone to get into small groups, they should each have images and information on their tables for each type of aircraft.  
  3. Explain that everyone has images of different aircraft types. Then, one by one, the person leading should call out the names or a fact of an aircraft. Everyone should find the correct picture and hold it up. 
  4. Check that the groups can correctly identify each type of aircraft. Ask if anyone knows any extra facts about them or has even flown in one.  
  5. Each person, pair, or group should choose an aircraft they’re most interested in and create a poster about it. They can cut out or draw pictures, label the parts, and add facts to help others learn about their chosen aircraft. 
  6. Encourage creativity by suggesting they add drawings of skies, clouds, pilots, runways, or drone operators. If safe devices are available, they can also research extra facts online. 

Helicopters

  • They have at least two blades which spin around really fast to lift up the helicopter.
  • They are sometimes called ‘choppers’, because their blades make a chopping sound when they are spinning.
  • Occasionally emergency services use them, as they need less space to land than a plane but can carry a lot of equipment and people.
  • They are really noisy.

Hot air balloons

  • They are the oldest type of aircraft capable of carrying people.
  • They are believed to have first been used by the pre-Incan Nazcas in Peru, more than 2,000 years ago.
  • They are filled up with hot air and/or light air gases, which lift them up.
  • The heated air is kept inside the balloon by its fabric ‘envelope’.
  • They travel using the direction of the wind.

Gliders

  • Like birds, gliders can soar for great distances and to great heights.
  • The world’s first successful aeroplanes were all gliders.
  • The first successful glider was built by the Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright.
  • On 17 December 1903, Orville Wright became the first person to fly a motor-powered aircraft.

Airships

  • They use hot air and/or light gases to lift up.
  • They also have engines and propellers to help them fly and steer direction.
  • There are three different types of airships: non-rigid, semi-rigid, and rigid.
  • Non-rigid or semi-rigid airships use only air to keep their shape, like a balloon.
  • Rigid airships have a frame inside to keep their shape.

Fighter planes

  • They are used by the military and armies.
  • They can reach speeds of 1,600 miles per hour.
  • They are designed to be light and smooth, so they can fly very quickly though air.

Airliner

  • They’re large planes used to carry passengers around the world.
  • The largest airliners are called wide-body jets – they normally have two aisles inside them.
  • Smaller airliners are called narrow-body jets – they normally have a single aisle.

Unmanned Aircraft

  • These are aircraft that fly without a pilot on board.
  • They can be controlled remotely by people on the ground or fly automatically using pre-programmed instructions.
  • Drones are used for many things like photography, delivery, and even search and rescue.
  • They come in all sorts of sizes, some with wings as small as a few centimetres, while others have wingspans up to 60 metres, about the size of a regular aeroplane.

Fixed-wing drones

  • These look like small aeroplanes with wings.
  • They fly by moving forward, using their wings to stay up in the air.
  • They are good for flying long distances and staying in the air for a long time.

Rotary-wing drones

  • These look like tiny helicopters with spinning blades.
  • They can take off and land straight up and down and hover in one place.
  • They are often used for close-up work like filming or inspecting buildings.

Hybrid drones

  • These combine features of fixed-wing and rotary-wing drones.
  • They can take off vertically like a helicopter but fly long distances like an aeroplane.
  • Useful when you need both flexibility and endurance.

Micro and nano drones

  • Very small drones, sometimes just a few centimetres across.
  • Often used indoors or in tight spaces.
  • Can be used for spying, exploring, or fun flying.

Reflection

This activity helped everyone to recognise the wide variety of aircraft. Everyone should talk about how they created their posters and decided what to put on them. If anyone knows additional information about their aircraft, they could share some more facts with the group. For example, has anyone been on or seen any of the aircraft they included on their poster? What’s the most unusual aircraft anyone has seen?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Scissors

Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

Glue and solvents

Always supervise young people appropriately when they’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.

Online safety

Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

  • Encourage creativity by suggesting they add drawings of skies, clouds, pilots, runways, or drone operators. If safe devices are available, they can also research extra facts online. 
  • To make this activity easier, you could pre-cut any pictures out for people to use or use stickers instead. 
  • The posters could be created using computers or laptops instead.
  • Make sure there’s a role for everyone. If anyone doesn’t want to make the poster, could they help do research or cut out images for people to use? 
  • If someone needs support in writing down their ideas or drawing, give them the opportunity to work with someone else to help them where needed. A friend, adult volunteer or young leader could write for them. 
  • Make sure everyone can see the pictures and any text clearly. You might need to use larger words, easy-to-read fonts in large print, or bigger images. Providing a digital version can help, so people can use magnification software if needed. People could also use magnifying glasses, braille, or large print versions. Using different colours, shapes, or pictures can support those who find reading difficult. Always choose colours that are easy to identify for anyone who’s colourblind.
  • People should only speak or present to the group if they feel happy and comfortable. One or two can speak on behalf of their group. Sharing in pairs or small groups is another option, or an adult or young leader can present ideas for someone if needed.
  • Make sure to have accessible equipment or methods available, such as left-handed tools, tearing instead of cutting out, or thicker materials for easier grip.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Air Activities Stage 2
Air Activities Stage 3

If you enjoyed this activity, you could use a model kit or recycled material to build an aircraft, then paint and decorate it. You could also visit an airfield or air museum to see some of the aircraft used in the posters up close.

If anyone can a special interest in aircraft, they could make a presentation about their favourites to the group or help lead the introduction.