Watch the world record for distance
Watch the world record for time aloft
Materials
- Paper
- “The Basic Dart” instructions
- “Nakamura Lock” instructions
- “Blackburn World Record Plane” instructions
- “Sky King” instructions
- “The Hammer” instructions
Before the Experiment
- What forces act on a paper airplane when it’s in flight? What about a regular airplane?
- How are wings on birds similar to wings on planes (paper or regular)? How are they similar?
- How do planes (and birds) change directions while they’re flying?
Experiment
Your goal today is simple: try to set a new world record. Some of the designs above are better at travelling very far, and some of the designs are better at staying in the air for a really long time. When you try to build a plane, think about the following:
- Are the wings on your design very large and wide, or more slender?
- How long is the airplane? Where is the center of gravity? (Try to balance it on a fingertip!)
- How well does it fly with a “long toss”? How about with a “high toss”?
- Can you improve the flight of your plane with flaps or elevators?
After the Experiment
- Rank the planes that you made, from best to worst. What do the good fliers have in common? How about the bad ones?
- Does your plane fly the same as your classmates’ planes of the same design? What might explain differences in how the two planes fly?