Building a Flying Machine
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Building a Flying Machine By: Arianna Bilal-Threats At first we made our fuselage out of straws because we thought air flow would take over and increase lift. We made the wings out of folder paper because we thought it would be sturdier than regular paper. After learning about the 4 forces- lift, thrust, drag, and weight, we knew that there needed to be a point at the front of the plane called a nose. So, we used a fuselage made out of a plastic bottle because it has a point that looked like a nose. We cut the bottom off of the bottle. We thought the air would flow through and increase lift, the force that brings you up. And for wings, we used cardboard. We also had double wings because at a museum we saw the Wright brothers plane had double wings and their plane was a success. Then, we noticed our fuselage was the heaviest part of the plane. So, we made a plane with all paper. We folded a half of a paper into a tube and put a paper point at the front for a nose. Then, for the wings we made little rectangles (x4) and took 2. Then, we curved one and put it on top. The same for the other wing. We decided to put a curve on top of the wing to increase a stream lined shape. That flew! But, not for long. We were happy but we wanted something that flew long distance. So, we tried something simpler. We used a straw and taped two wings on top. We thought it did not fly because the wings on top were 2 pieces so we made it 1 piece wing on top. It still did not fly but we persevered and we made our final draft which is the same design as the all- paper plane. We decided that because that was the only successful plane. You know when you learn something you should keep the knowledge forever. So, I will keep what I learned about the four forces- lift, drag, thrust, and weight. I will take it away with me because they are important to flight. They are important because they help it move. Thrust pushes the plane forward and drag pulls it back. Lift brings it up and weight pushes it down. I will take that away because the 4 forces were one of the first things we learned about. Also, one of the main ways we decided how to make changes in our flying machines. And that, my learners, is the story of me and Kai’s flying machine! Building a Flying Machine By: Max Sawyer First, we made a plan for our flying machine. Second, we made our flying machine. It had no wings because we thought wings would create more weight. But it fell quickly. Third, we made a cardboard airplane with 4 wings because then we knew that wings made lift. It flew better than the first plane, but still not very well because it weighed too much. We learned it weighed too much when we dropped paper, cardboard, and plastic for an experiment and cardboard fell faster than paper. Fourth, we got rid of two wings because we learned that a plane only needs 2 wings. It worked! It flew for 2.53 seconds! But we still thought it could be better, so we decided to use paper wings and a pencil in the front because then it would be streamlined to reduce drag and increase thrust. But it did not work so we curved the wings once we learned about air pressure and drag, but it did not work so we got rid of the pencils and it flew for 4.23 seconds! This expedition taught me about the 4 forces and how they work on an airplane during the 7 phases of flight (pre-flight, taxiing, take-off, ascending, cruising, descending, and landing). Building a Flying Machine By: Anthony Coomber At first, we had a card board tube, and 2 parachutes to make the plane slow down when it fell. We didn’t know it then, but this is called drag. Then, we had a plane with a cardboard cup fuselage and small wings. Then, we put large wings on the top of the plane. We nicknamed it “the flying possum.” It has a streamlined nose to stop drag. At last, we made a hang glider like plane with a straw frame and a balloon engine to make thrust. Over all our flying machine was a success!!! Building a Flying Machine By: Quinn Joswick First, we used a flat piece of cardboard as the fuselage, flattened out tape boxes for the wings, and a parachute made out of straws and felt. The parachute would help the plane during landing by increasing drag. Drag is the force that slows you down. Next, we went to the college park aviation museum and learned that the wright brother’s plane had ribs. So, we changed the fuselage to a cardboard roll so we could easily add double wings with ribs, which the wright brothers had also put on their plane. Then, we did an experiment where we dropped a water bottle, cardboard roll, and a rolled up sheet of paper at the same time to see which one would hit the ground first because of gravity. The paper fell slowest so we made our plane out of paper and put the cardboard inside because we learned at the air and space museum that a plane needs some weight. We also learned that a plane needs surface area. Surface area is when air is pushing up or down on something flat. So, we taped the double wings together to make more surface area. Also, Ethan’s dad came in and told us that planes have ailerons, elevators, and a rudder. So, we made ailerons on our wing to help determine which way the plane will turn. We also put on a back peace which holds the rudder and elevators. The rudder also helps the plane turn and the elevator helps determine if the plane will go up or down. We added a bump on the top of the plane’s wings so the air would go fast over top and there would be little air pressure and s-l-o-w on the bottom and there would be lots of air pressure. That’s called Bernoulli’s principle. It was created by physicist Daniel Bernoulli. Finally, we decided to make the fuselage out of file paper and the nose out of normal paper. File paper for the fuselage because we wanted it to be light, but have some weight. Normal paper for the nose because it would curve nicely. It has paper plate wings, ailerons, and ribs made out of straws. The engine is a balloon that you blow up, let go, and it propels the plane forwards. This expedition taught me a lot about planes, the forces of flight, and how flight works. Building a Flying Machine By: Timothy Cox-Henderson At first, we used cardboard and popsicle sticks, but it was too heavy and gravity pulled it straight down and it broke. Next, we used paper and straws that worked out and we kept using those materials. Once, we tried it without straws and that worked out fabulously! I think it worked well because the wings were curved and the fuselage was small. It was well balanced. This made it fly fast and good. We used straws so the air could go through and the plane could cut through the air. This created thrust on our plane. We tried to add more surface area on the wings to create more lift, but if fell straight to the ground because it wasn’t well balanced, so we took them off. I feel good about our flying machine because we did good, we worked hard, and our plane flew well! Building a Flying Machine By: Darryl Wilkins Our first plane was made out of cardboard and foam. It had 2 wings, one in the back and one in the front. It did not fly well because I think it was too heavy. So, we used a plastic bottle for the body and cardboard wings. We cut a hole in the bottle so the air could go through it and lift it up. We also thought it would create thrust and fight off drag by pushing the air backwards so the plane can go forward. It flew for a few seconds and fell. Then, we did an experiment and I learned weight doesn’t matter, shape and surface area matter. There needs to be more surface area to make it catch air. The fast air needs to stay on top and the slow air needs to stay on the bottom. This helps the air push the wings up. This is called lift. We decided to make a kite instead of a plane because a kite has more surface area. My partner cut it into a heart shape, but it kept spinning out of control and wouldn’t fly. I think it didn’t work because the sides were not equal and the shape was not aerodynamic. Most kites have a point, but our kite did not so it couldn’t glide. This expedition taught me about flight and the four forces. This helped us build a more successful flying machine. Even though our flying machines didn’t work that well, we still worked hard and we learned from our mistakes.