Finger
Boomerangs
SUBJECT:
Aeronautics
TOPIC: Boomerang
DESCRIPTION: Plans for making and flying small boomerangs made
from file card paper
CONTRIBUTED BY: Gregory Vogt, OSU
EDITED BY: Roger Storm, NASA Glenn Research Center
MATERIALS:
File card
Scissors
Pencil
Pattern
PROCEDURE:
1. Cut out the patterns of the boomerangs and trace them
onto a file card.
2. Cut out the boomerangs from the file cards. SOME SAMPLE SHAPES
ARE SHOWN HERE.
FLYING THE FINGER BOOMERANGS:
Lay
the boomerang on the edge of a book and tilt the book slightly upward.
The book will serve as a launching platform. Using one of your index fingers,
strike the boomerang so that it spins rapidly as it shoots rapidly off
the book. The boomerang should fly straight out, turn, and come back.
If necessary, give the boomerang a bit of additional lift by bending the
leading edge tips of each wing slightly upward like a forward facing flap.
DISCUSSION:
Refer to the
Four-Wing Bomerang Activity
for more information about boomerangs.
LINK
TO THE WORLD OF BOOMERANGS ON THE INTERNET
Boomerang
Association of Australia Links
The first is a thorough
intro to the world of boomerangs, including looking at terms like airfoils,
dihedral, asymmetrical lift, and the like; while the latter is a scholarly
look at the history of boomerangs over the past couple centuries.
http://www.boomerang.org.au/articles/article-boomerang-glossary.html
http://www.boomerang.org.au/articles/article-what-is-a-boomerang.html
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Objects that Lift
Aerospace
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Oklahoma State University
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