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Paper Airplanes
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Glenn
Research
Center
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Paper Airplane #2 (PA-2) & Paper Airplane #1 (PA-1)
A
glider
is a special kind of
aircraft
that has no engine.
In flight, a glider has
three forces
acting on it
as compared to the
four forces
that act on a powered aircraft.
Both types of aircraft are subjected to the forces of
lift,
drag, and
weight.
The powered aircraft has an engine that generates
thrust, while the glider has
no thrust.
There are many different types of glider aircraft.
Paper airplanes
are the simplest aircraft to build and fly, and students can learn the
basics of
aircraft motion
by flying paper airplanes.
Building and flying balsa wood or styrofoam gliders is an inexpensive
way for students to
have fun
while learning the basics of
aerodynamics.
Hang-gliders are piloted aircraft that are
launched by leaping off the side of a hill or by being towed aloft.
Piloted gliders are
launched by ground based catapults, or are towed aloft by a
powered aircraft then cut free to glide for hours over many miles.
The Wright Brothers perfected the design of the first airplane and
gained piloting experience through a series of
glider flights
from 1900 to 1903.
The
Space Shuttle
flies as a glider during reentry and landing; the rocket engines are used only
during liftoff.
On the graphic at the top of this page, there are two paper airplane designs shown:
Paper Airplane #1 (PA-1), in blue at the lower right, and Paper Airplane #2 (PA-2),
in red at the upper left. Both of these aircraft are constructed by folding an
8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. The plans for these aircraft are provided below.
To obtain your own copy of PA-1
click here
and save the Power Point file. Open Power Point and follow the directions written
on the aircraft to obtain a two-sided copy of the plans from your printer. The plans
will look like this:
To construct the aircraft, fold on the solid lines in the prescribed numerical order (1,2,3..)
always folding to the inside. Cover the number with the fold. The dashed lines on
the plans indicate places to cut with a scissors. The PA-1 is designed to be
highly maneuverable and employs both
ailerons
and a
rudder.
If both ailerons are turned upward, the aircraft will loop. If one is turned up and the
other down, and the rudder is fixed straight, the aircraft will roll. If the rudder is
turned, the aircraft will perform a
banked turn.
To obtain your own copy of PA-2
click here
and save the Power Point file. Open Power Point and follow the directions written
on the aircraft to obtain a two-sided copy of the plans from your printer. The plans
will look like this:
To construct the aircraft, fold on the solid lines in the prescribed numerical order (1,2,3..)
always folding to the inside. Cover the number with the fold.
The PA-2 is designed to fly fast and far.
Students should build and fly both aircraft to learn how differences in design
affect the flight performance of an aircraft. After experimenting with paper airplanes,
the student is ready to move up to more
challenging aircraft such as wooden or styrofoam gliders.
Activities:
Teamwork in Aerospace
Guided Tours
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