What Makes a Good Aerodynamic Design? Test Your Ideas with High-Performance Paper Gliders
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Summary
Areas of Science
Difficulty
Time Required
Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Low ($20 - $50)
Safety
No issues
Credits
Ben Finio, PhD, Science Buddies
Andrew Olson, PhD, Science Buddies
*Note:
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Abstract
You have probably made plenty of regular paper airplanes simply by folding a piece of printer or notebook paper. Have you ever tried making a "high performance" paper glider? These gliders use a different construction technique that involves cutting multiple shapes out of thicker, stiffer paper and gluing them together (this process is called lamination). There are many resources online that can get you started with the art of making high performance paper gliders. See the references in the Bibliography section or check out a book like Fabulous Paper Gliders. Once you have some experience making the gliders, pick independent and dependent variables and conduct an experiment. For example, you could measure how using different weights of paper or different amounts of glue affects flight distance, or how different glider designs compare to each other. Remember that there will be a lot of variability between individual throws of a paper airplane, so you will need to conduct many trials to get good data.Bibliography
- Ivy, M. (2004, January 16). High-Performance Paper Airplanes: G-1. Zovirl Industries. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
- Glenn Research Center, NASA (2022, July 28). Gliders. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- AG Industries (2003). Whitewings Science of Flight Lesson Plan. AG Industries. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
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Global Connections
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Cite This Page
General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.MLA Style
Finio, Ben, and Andrew Olson.
"What Makes a Good Aerodynamic Design? Test Your Ideas with High-Performance Paper Gliders." Science Buddies,
5 Aug. 2023,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Aero_p009/aerodynamics-hydrodynamics/what-makes-a-good-aerodynamic-design-paper-gliders?class=AQUDbLP4e80SwuXHSrpz5Yqx-1uLW9ungbIZMakpHT1P41dfX5v342dPGFmcybuUNwYUrbTq6OoVyQc5kXZi4DSX5GwvoNhWm2r9DGGIXvWMXg.
Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
APA Style
Finio, B., & Olson, A.
(2023, August 5).
What Makes a Good Aerodynamic Design? Test Your Ideas with High-Performance Paper Gliders.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Aero_p009/aerodynamics-hydrodynamics/what-makes-a-good-aerodynamic-design-paper-gliders?class=AQUDbLP4e80SwuXHSrpz5Yqx-1uLW9ungbIZMakpHT1P41dfX5v342dPGFmcybuUNwYUrbTq6OoVyQc5kXZi4DSX5GwvoNhWm2r9DGGIXvWMXg
Last edit date: 2023-08-05
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