® Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine Student Handout What’s Wing Warping?
Wing warping is the twisting, or 4 Attach a paper clip to the nose. warping, of plane wings to control Slide it forward or backward to the roll of the plane. The Wright adjust the center of gravity. brothers first thought of this Sharply score the wing tips along system and used cables to control the fold lines so that they can be the up-and-down movement of easily repositioned. their wing tips to roll their aircraft 5 To steer your plane, decide to the right or left. In this activity, whether the wing tips should be you will build paper airplanes and up or down on the leading and adjust the wing tips up or down to trailing edges of the plane’s Questions simulate wing warping. Then you wings. Write your answers on a separate will test how it affects the flight of 6 Your first challenge is to work sheet of paper. your craft. with your team member to make 1 How can you make the plane your plane fly straight. Then turn to the right? How can you Procedure change the way you fold the flaps make it dive? 1 Cut out the paper airplane to make it curve to the right. 2 If you move the paper clip, how template. Trace this pattern on a Finally, make it dive down. Throw does that affect the flight path? piece of tag board. Copy the fold your plane gently when you con- 3 Of the two adjustable wing lines from the template onto the duct your trials. areas—leading or trailing tag board. 7 Use the charts on your “Flight edges—which provides greater 2 Cut out the rudder. Fold the air- Data Sheet” student handout to stability to the aircraft and allows plane body (fuselage) along its record your team’s observations it to fly farther? center line, and place the rudder of the flight path and the wing 4 Which wing configuration flies into place in the tail position. flap positions for each different the longest and straightest? 3 Staple the rudder into place. wing configuration your team Why? Staple the fuselage three more tries. times, once near the front and twice in the center.
trailing edge
leading edge