Balsa Glider COco cummins

AIM

To make a balsa glider, and analysis the results of the flight.

HYPOTHESIS

I think my Balsa Glider will have a successful flight as long as I follow the measurements. I want to plane to lift about a metre above the ground and fly straight, making it atleast two metres. This will be susscesful as long as I use the wind to my advantage, and follow the instructions, making sure the parts of my Balsa Glider are cut to the measurements.

Materials:

  • Glider Template
  • Balsa wood, 2mm
  • Balsa wood, 5mm
  • Craft knife
  • Ruler
  • Hot glue gun
  • Elastic band
  • Blue tack
  • Cutting mat

METHOD

We followed the cutting measurements so we had the six parts of the balsa glider we would need. We sanded the rough edges and made sure the winglets were identical. This would ensure the Balsa Glider flew evenly, otherwise the centre of gravity wouldn't be even. We then glued the tail to the horizontal stabiliser and the winglets to the wing. We then attached the parts to the fuselage and used a elastic band to attach the wing to the fuselage.

We sanded the front of the fuselage so that it glided through the air quicker because there wouldn't be as much friction on the nose. We added blue tack to the nose to make it heavier so the centre of gravity was more even otherwise the wind would of just pushed the plane up.

The wing area was 169cm and the total length of the balsa glider was 33cm.

FLIGHT

On the first attempt the the plane dove straight down. To fix this, we moved the wings closer to the nose. This would help the lift, as wind would catch underneath the wing but at the same time the blue tack is adding weight to keep the Balsa Glider straight.

The Balsa glider flew about 4 metres, but, we used the wind to our advantage. The plane rolled slightly left and a few seconds after rolled all the way to the left so that when it landed it crashed onto its side. We collected the date of a few flights. The Balsa Glider didn't fly against the wind because the drag was to strong and the thrust want strong enough.

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ANALYSE

(Analysis the date from first flight)

I think a lot of wind got caught underneath the right wing which pushed that side upwards and made the plane roll left. I don't think the centre of gravity was very even as throughout the several flights we attempted it didn't stay straight. It was interesting watching how the blue tack affected the flight. The end product wasn't very successful, however, the goal was to get the Balsa to fly. This was accomplished. In the end, our right winglet snapped off, tihis was the end of our Balsa Glider.

The nose weight is important because it is added to help bring the centre of gravity of the glider to the wings. Our most successful flight was when the centre of gravity was just in front of the wings.

To make the flight more balanced and last for a longer flight time, I think we should of:

  • Added more blue tack to pull the nose down.
  • Moved the wings closer.

REFLECTION

I have been able to collect and analysis data from the Balsa Glider flights. I have also been able to adjust and fix the problems that occurred. I have learnt how to change the results of the flight by moving the wings around and adding blue tack. I was able to use my recourses to learn about the principles of flight, and I was able to complete the task.

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