Paper Airplane Project Glider Design Testing Worksheet Haley Cornelius

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The Science of Flight Paper Airplane Project Glider Design Testing Worksheet Tester Name: Haley Cornelius Description of Testing Site The testing site is the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Air Terminal hangar. There is ample space and height for paper airplanes to fly and no wind interference. Distance Design Testing Name of Distance Design The Basic Dart Hypothesis for Distance Design The Basic Dart will perform well in regard to distance due to its sleek and aerodynamic design. It is thin and narrow which will reduce the amount of drag force that will act upon it. Weigh twill not really play a role in this experiment since both designs are required to be made of the exact same material. The Basic Dart will have high wing-loading due to its small wing area compared to its body mass therefore it may have an issue maintaining the amount of lift required to perform well in regard to duration. Thrust will be determined by how the thrower launches the paper plane Thrust Method for Distance Design (be specific!) With the Basic Dart, the harder it is launched, the faster and farther the plane will travel. It would also be best to throw it with as much of an upward angle as possible to counteract any drag it will experience. [NOTE: The three items above were completed in part 1 of the project] Data and Calculations for Distance Design Distance Design Wing Loading (enter values to the nearest tenth in the indicated units of measurement) Total Glider Mass (g) WingAre a (c m 2 ) Wing Loading (g/c m 2 ) 4.5 218.63 0.021 Explanation of the method used for calculating wing area The wings for the Basic Dart form a triangle on top of a rectangle so I calculated the area by using the standard formula for the area of a triangle: A= ½ B*H and added the result to area of the rectangle at the bottom which is found College of Arts & Sciences | worldwide.erau.edu All rights are reserved. The material contained herein is the copyright property of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, 32114. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the University .

by using the formula A=L*W. The base of the triangle formed by the wings is 16.5cm, the height of the triangle formed by the wings is 22.5cm. So, A = ½ (16.5)*(22.5) = 185.63 cm^2. The length of the bottom rectangle is 16.5cm and the width is 2cm. So, A = (16.5)*(2) = 33cm^2. Then I added the two together (185.63+33). The total wing area is 218.63cm^2. Distance Design Glide Distance Measure the straight line distance from take-off point to landing point (point where the glider strikes the ground). Enter values to the nearest tenth (one decimal place) of a meter. Test Glider Number or Name Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average Distance (meters) Basic Dart Pink 10.7 9.8 8.3 10.2 9.5 9.7 Basic Dart Blue 9.6 8.7 8.3 9.2 9.0 8.9 Basic Dart Orange 7.0 7.3 7.9 7.1 6.8 7.2 Observations Basic Dart Pink performed the best by reaching an average distance of almost 1 meter farther than the other gliders. Sources of Variability, Uncertainty and Error Sources of variability, uncertainty, and error could be the way the planes were folded – its impossible for there to not be any variability from one plane to another. Also, the way it was thrown each time could cause variability – different speeds and different angle – no matter how much a person tries to keep it consistent. Results and Conclusions Include which plane performed best, i.e., the one with the best average distance achieved in the testing, and a summary of the specific design features and external factors that likely influenced the performance of the test planes. Page 2 of 8

Basic Dart Pink performed the best out of the three different planes. Its average distance reached almost a meter farther than the others. It’s sleek design allowed it to move quickly through the air and reach a farther distance than those that were tested specifically for duration. The tests were conducted indoors so wind did not cause an adverse reaction to its flight time. This plane performed best when thrown fast and hard and with a slight upward angle. Flight Duration Design Testing Name of Flight Duration Design The Stealth Glider Hypothesis for Flight Duration Design The Stealth Glider will perform well in regard to duration due to its large wing area, but may suffer in regard to distance because it will experience more drag. Weight will not really play a role in this experiment since both designs are required to be made of the exact same material. The Stealth Glider will have low wing-loading due to its large wing area and the fact that it doesn’t have much of a body mass due to its lack of a fuselage so it should be able to quickly produce lift as well as maintain it throughout the duration of the flight. Thrust will be determined by how the thrower launches the paper plane. Thrust Method for Flight Duration Design (be specific!) With the Stealth Glider, it would be best to launch it with medium thrust and at an upward angle so that it can easily and quickly produce the lift it will need to sustain flight and overcome any drag that may act upon it. [NOTE: The three items above were completed in part 1 of the project] Data and Calculations for Flight Duration Design Duration Design Wing Loading (enter values to the nearest tenth in the indicated units of measurement) Total Glider Mass (g) Total Wing Area (c m 2 ) Wing Loading (g/c m 2 ) 4.5 242.9 0.019 Explanation of the method used for calculating wing area The wings for the Stealth Glider form a trapezoid on top of a rectangle so I calculated the area by using the standard formula for the area of a trapezoid: A= (½ (a+b))*h and added the result to the area of the rectangle at the bottom which is found by using the formula A=L*W. The bases of the trapezoid formed by the wings are 21.5cm and 6cm, and the height of the trapezoid formed by the wings is 7.5cm. So, A = (½ (21.5+6))*(7.5) = 103.125cm^2. The length of the bottom rectangle is 21.5cm and the width is 6.5cm. So, A = (21.5)*(6.5) = 139.75cm^2. Then I added the two together (103.125+139.75). The total wing area is 242.88cm^2. Page 3 of 8

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Duration Design Flight Time Start the timer when the glider is released and stop the timer when the glider hits the ground. Enter flight times to the nearest whole second. Calculate the average flight times to the nearest tenth of a second. Test Glider Number or Name Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average Flight Time (seconds) Stealth Glider Pink 1.2 1.1 1.3 0.9 1.2 1.1 Stealth Glider Blue 2.2 2.5 2.1 2.6 2.0 2.3 Stealth Glider Orange 0.9 1.0 0.8 0.5 0.8 0.8 Observations Stealth Glider Blue performed extraordinarily better than the other two gliders, staying aloft for an average of more than a second longer. Sources of Variability, Uncertainty and Error Sources of variability, uncertainty, and error could be the way the planes were folded – its impossible for there to not be any variability from one plane to another. Also, the way it was thrown each time could cause variability – different speeds and different angle – no matter how much a person tries to keep it consistent. Results and Conclusions Include which plane performed best, i.e., the one with the best average flight time achieved in the testing, and a summary of the specific design features and external factors that likely influenced the performance of the test planes. Stealth Glider Blue performed the best out of the three planes. It was a little bit of a learning curve figuring out exactly how to throw these and get the best result because throwing them hard and fast like the basic dart plane was not productive at all. I learned that throwing it softer with an upward motion allowed it to produce the most lift. In real life, this might be one of those Page 4 of 8

jets that uses vertical takeoff. The experiment was conducted indoors so wind was not a factor but if I had been outside I probably could have made the glider stay aloft much longer if I was able to play the wind to my advantage. Page 5 of 8

Graphs and Images Test Glider vs. Average Distance Graph for Distance Design (insert graph HERE) Test Glider vs. Average Flight Time Graph for Duration Design (insert graph HERE) Page 6 of 8

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