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Project Summary

Difficulty	2
Time required	Very Short (a day or less)
Prerequisites	None
Material Availability	Readily available
Cost	Very Low (under $20)
Safety	No issues

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Sponsor

Sponsored by a generous grant from Northrop Grumman Foundation

Weightless Flights of Discovery Program for Teachers

www.northropgrumman.com/ community/weightless.html

Abstract

Objective

In this experiment you will make a simple sled kite to use in a series of experiments to test different variables important for flight.

Introduction

Did you know that one of the most famous kite flyers of all time was a 10 year-old boy? His name was Homan Walsh, and with out him the Niagara Falls Bridge would not have been built in 1847. Before building of the bridge could begin, someone needed to get a line from one side of the gorge to the other. Homan successfully flew a kite from one side of the gorge to the other, and his kite line was the first to span the gorge. After securing Homan's initial kite string, heavier and heavier line was fed across until a steel cable could be connected across the gorge so that bridge construction could begin. Homan Walsh was rewarded with a ten-dollar cash prize, which was a lot of money in 1847!

Another famous kite flying duo were the Wright Brothers. Before building the first successful airplanes, they experimented with various designs by using kites. By making many different kite models of their airplanes, they eventually came up with a design that worked, and the rest is history.

There are many different kite designs. Some kite designs are very old, like traditional Chinese and Japanese kites. Some designs are very new, like the dynamic stunt kites used in sport kite flying competitions. These kites are made with modern materials and designs which make them ultra maneuverable. There are a few basic styles used for kite building:

Here are some basic kite designs (Image from Benson, T., 2006).

In this experiment you will make your own kite for testing how different variables affect flight. The type of kite you will make is called a sled kite, and is very simple to build. After you build the kite you will use it for a series of experiments, testing different variables such as speed, line length, tail length, and any other variable you want to test. Will you be able to figure out the best way to fly a kite?

Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research

To do this type of experiment you should know what the following terms mean. Have an adult help you search the internet, or take you to your local library to find out more!

• sled kite
• flight
• variable
• rating scale

• How do you make a kite?
• What variables effect the flight of a kite?
• What is the best way to fly a kite?

Bibliography

• At this site you will find instructions to make a simple sled kite using drinking straws and a paper bag from the Dryden Flight Research Center at NASA:
  NASA, 2004. "Sled Kite," Dryden Flight Research Center: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). [accessed October 24, 2006] http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Education/OnlineEd/K4Guide/PDF/10sled.pdf
• From a different page on the NASA web site, you can read about the aerodynamics of kite flying:
  Benson, T., 2006. "Kites," Glenn Research Center: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). [accessed October 24, 2006] http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/kite1.html
• Wikipedia contributors, "Kite," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. [accessed October 24, 2006] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kite&oldid=88027743

Materials and Equipment

• computer
• printer
• paper
• tape
• string
• drinking straws
• scissors
• hole punch
• paper clip
• crayons and markers
• meter stick (metric ruler)

Experimental Procedure

1. Download the Sled Kite Template and print it out on a sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" paper:
2. Carefully cut out the sled kite and decorate using crayons, markers, or other media.
3. Trim the length of the two drinking straws so they will fit in the area marked for the straws.
4. Tape the straws into place.
5. Place two or three pieces of tape in the marked areas covering the black circles to reinforce the holes for the string.
6. Using a single-hole paper puncher, carefully punch the two holes marked by the black circles.
7. Cut two pieces of kite string 45 cm each. Tie a string through each hole. Tie them tight, but not so tight that you tear the paper.
8. Tie the opposite end of both strings together to a paper clip.
9. Cut a 1 m long piece of string. Tie one end of this string to the other end of the paper clip. Your sled kite is ready to fly!

   Sled Kite, Dryden Flight Research Center at NASA (NASA, 2004).

10. Outside in a clear area, use your kite to test some variables:
    • Having a Tail - add on a tail or two to compare (no tail, one tail, two tails)
    • Tail Length - try tails of different lengths (10 cm, 100 cm, 500 cm)
    • Flier Speed - fly the kite in three different ways (standing, walking, and running)
    • String Length - use different lengths of string to attach to the paper clip (1 m, 3 m, 5 m)
11. Use a scale to rate the quality of flight under each different condition. For example, a scale of 0-10 where 0 is no flight and 10 is the best flight.
12. Make data tables to record your results. Here are two examples:

    Variable: Flier Speed	Standing	Walking	Running
    Result:

    Variable: Tail Length	10 cm	100 cm	500 cm
    Result:

13. Which variables make your kite fly best?

Variations

• You can test other kite designs too. Go to the library to find books or magazines about kite making, or use the internet to find plans for making different kinds of kites. Then test your new kite designs using the same sets of variables. Will the same variables important for the flight of a sled kite design also be important for other designs?
• You can use the online kite flight simulator from NASA to test the variables of kite flight virtually. You can go directly to NASA's kite simulator page with this link: http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/kiteprog.html
• You can also use the flight simulator to design a kite before you build it. Check out the Science Buddies experiment, The Wright Stuff: Using Kites to Study Aerodynamics

• For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics Project Ideas.

Credits

Sara Agee, Ph.D., Science Buddies

Last edit date: 2006-12-05 11:00:00

Career Focus

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring careers in Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics.

	Aerospace Engineer Humans have always longed to fly and to make other things fly, both through the air and into outer space—aerospace engineers are the people that make those dreams come true. They design, build, and test vehicles like airplanes, helicopters, balloons, rockets, missiles, satellites, and spacecraft.			Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technician Aerospace engineering and operations technicians are essential to the development of new aircraft and space vehicles. They build, test, and maintain parts for air and spacecraft, and assemble, test, and maintain the vehicles as well. They are key members of a flight readiness team, preparing space vehicles for launch in clean rooms, and on the launch pad. They also help troubleshoot launch or flight failures by testing suspect parts.
	Pilot Pilots fly airplanes, helicopters, and other aircraft to accomplish a variety of tasks. While the primary job of most pilots is to fly people and cargo from place to place, 20 percent of all pilots have more specialized jobs, like dropping fire retardant, seeds, or pesticides from the air, or helping law enforcement rescue and transport accident victims, and capture criminals. Pilots enjoy working and helping people in the “third dimension."			Aviation Inspector Aviation inspectors are critical to ensuring that aircraft are safe to fly. They conduct pre-flight inspections to make sure an aircraft is safe. They also inspect the work of aircraft mechanics, and keep detailed records of work done to maintain or repair an aircraft. As problems are identified, they may make changes to maintenance schedules, and may be called upon to investigate air accidents.
	Marine Architect Water covers more than 70 percent of Earth's surface, and marine architects design vessels that allow humans and their cargo to cross through or under those waters safely and efficiently. Some of their watercraft designs are enormous, like merchant ships, which carry huge loads of oil, cars, food, clothing, toys, and other goods, across thousands of miles of open waters. These ships are essential for trade between countries. Other vessels are smaller and more specialized, like luxury yachts or cruise liners. Still others are designed for military purposes.

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