Aileron
Roll Problems
If so instructed by your teacher, print out a worksheet page
for these problems.
Open the slide called
Aileron Roll (with text). Study
the labeled diagram and read the explanation of aileron roll.
After you have read
the Web page about Aileron Roll, make a paper airplane. Click on How
to make a paper jet model (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/WindTunnel/Activities/foldairplane.html)
for directions or fold an airplane of your own design. Then:
- Cut 0.25
inch ( 6 mm) slits about 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the end of each wing and
then fold these areas down. The tabs you have just made are called:___________________
- Looking at your
paper airplane from the front, fold the right tab down and the left
tab up, so that it resembles the diagram on the Aileron Roll Web page.What
motion do you predict will result when you fly your airplane? ___________________________________
- Fly your paper
airplane. Was the motion the same as your prediction in the question
above? If not, describe how it differed. ______________________
- The paper airplane
should have rolled counterclockwise around its center of gravity if
viewed from the front. Where is its center of gravity in terms of the
length of the airplane? ___________________
- Now bend the left
tab flat and bend the right flap up. Predict the motion you will see
when you fly the paper airplane: ______________________
- Fly the plane again.
Was your prediction correct? If not, describe how it differed. ________________________
- If the tab is bent down,
is more lift or less lift generated by the wing? _________________
- Bend the tabs on
both wings up and fly your paper airplane. Explain what happened. __________________________________________
- In what situation
would a pilot want to use the ailerons to roll the plane? ________________
- Where are the ailerons
located on a commercial jet? ________________
- If the ailerons
were used during landing to decrease lift, which way would they be deflected?
________________
- Where is a spoiler
located on a wing of an airliner? ________________
- If a spoiler is
deflected on the left wing of an airplane, which way would the airplane
roll as viewed from the front? ________________
- If spoilers on
both wings were deflected the same amount at the same time, how would
the plane's position change? ________________
- Cut and attach
small strips of paper to your paper airplane's wings with tape. Fly
it. How did your spoilers affect the flight?
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