The Jet engine for the flighlab exhibition in the Swedish air force museum
Spree has created an interactive installation for the Air Force Museum in Linköping where visitors can learn the basics of how a jet engine works.
About the case.
Spree has created three different games that visitors must complete in order to successfully start a jet engine and get a jet to take off and fly away. The games are designed to represent 3 important parts of the jet engine – the fan, the compressor and the combustion chamber.
Together with experts from the Swedish Air Force Museum, we have developed the three game concepts to create an understanding of what happens in a Jet Engine in a simple, fun and educational way. Transpond has designed and built the station’s podium.
The fan
In the Fan game, visitors get to learn how the jet engine sucks in air to start the turbine. The game mechanics consist of adjusting the engine's rotor blades to make sure that the right amount of air is gets in to the engine.
3d-modeled engine
The jet engine has been modeled in 3D in the program Blender. In order to create the parts of the jet engine in a correct way, we worked in close contact with experts in the field. Just like in reality, the various components of the jet engine have been modeled separately and then assembled.
The compressor
In the compressor game, you get to learn how the air that has been sucked into the engine is compressed, charged and gets hotter and hotter. In the game you get to pull air bubbles through the various compressor stages. For each stage, the air bubbles become hotter and more charged, which makes each step gradually more difficult. When you succeed, you get to see how the compressed air is pushed on to the combustion chamber.
Fun learning
The goal of the station was to create a fun and educational experience. It was a difficult balancing act, which required several iterations to reach the final result that we wanted. During this process we had a close contact with Experts from the Swedish air force museum, to make sure we didnt overlook any importand details.
The combustion chamber
In the combustion chamber game, players get to mix the charged and compressed air from the compressor game with fuel. When you have managed to get the right ratio between air and fuel, you get to ignite the mixture to start the jet engine. The game highlights how little fuel is needed compared to air.
Tailormade user interface and graphics
Interfaces, graphics and effects are made from scratch and create a coherence between all three games.
Result screen
Centered over the three games, there is a large 4k screen where you can see the results of how the games are going. The screen shows which stations have been completed and which still need to be completed for the engine to start. Depending on which games are completed, different parts of a jet engine are activated.
Jet video
When all games are completed, you can see how the engine is placed in a jet aircraft which then takes off and flies away. The film sequence is made by Spree in After effects.
About the Swedish air force museum
“Experience the development of Swedish military history at the Swedish Air Force Museum in Linköping. The Swedish Air Force Museum is an award-winning museum of technology and cultural history and is part of the Swedish Defense History Museums, an authority also responsible for the Army Museum in Stockholm. Here is the story of aviation’s obvious place in Sweden and in the Swedish defense. The Swedish Air Force Museum is part of the Swedish Defense History Museums, an authority that also includes the Army Museum in Stockholm. “
