Ubt1 Task 1
Measurement of the distance a paper airplane will fly in a controlled environment
UBT1 Task 2
Western Governors University
Introduction:
This report describes an experiment to show what types of paper airplanes will fly the furthest while meeting certain controlled variables. While the general term of flight refers to all aircraft, the experiment does not deal with powered aircraft. Due to this, paper airplanes should be looked at more like a glider or sailplane.(Aerodynamics of flight, n.d.)
Considering that the design, and airframe of each aircraft will be different, this experiment specifically looks at the horizontal velocity as dictated by Bernoulli’s principle in relation to lift, and the principle of glide in relation to the aircraft. …show more content…
Bernoulli’s principle reads as follows: a rise (fall) in pressure in a flowing fluid must always be accompanied by a decrease (increase) in the speed, and conversely, if an increase (decrease) in, the speed of the fluid results in a decrease (increase) in the pressure. (Bernoulli’s Principle, n.d.)
My interest in this came from my sons, who at 11 and 9 are completely enamored with the thought of flight. They are always wondering which planes fly the best, and the furthest with a single throw.
Hypothesis: It is the belief of this researcher that aircraft with larger wingspan which will be able to fly the furthest. The aircraft called “nose heavy” will end up having the longest/furthest flight. The shape, large wing surface, and attitude of the aircraft after launch make it a formidable contender.
List of items needed to replicate experiment:
5 Pieces of parchment weight paper (20lb weight). 1 piece of paper is to be used for each aircraft and the control object. (See addendums for building instructions)
1 Stopwatch; a smartphone with stopwatch app will suffice
1 Tape measure; for measuring distance of flight.
Replication: This experiment can be replicated by using 4 paper airplanes and use of the same controls as listed below. Room size may be substituted; however it is recommended that the length and width dimensions stay at a similar ratio. Distance and duration of flight are both logged to see if there is a correlation between the two measurements. Distance and duration start at the point where the aircraft is released, and are logged at the moment of impact with the ground, not when and where the aircraft finally comes to rest. Duration of flight is measured with a stopwatch, and distance of the flight is measured with a tape measure.
Control 1: All aircraft are made of the same material. White paper, of parchment weight(20lb paper weight, for our experiment). No artificial weight was added to the aircraft.
Control 2: Tests were completed in a room of 100 feet long, by 75 feet wide, and 20 foot ceilings, with any obstructions pushed to the edges of the room, clearing the potential flight path.
Control 3: Although there is an air conditioning unit in the building, it, nor any fans were turned on, so there is no added wind resistance in the test.
Control 4: Aircraft are to be created as symmetrical as possible to prevent too much pitch or roll to one side. The experimental variable is the architecture and airframe of each aircraft.
The experiment’s response variable is the distance of flight, and secondarily the duration of the flight for each aircraft in question.
The aircraft are as follows:
Nose heavy, mosquito, ramrod, and double wing serve as the airplanes’ distance that is being measured.
While the size and shape of the aircraft varies, they all utilize the same manner of flight; which is that of a sailplane.
Ninja Star:This aircraft, is used as a control, as the manner in which it flies and gains lift in a rotational motion is different from the other aircraft which glide like a sailplane. While not an aircraft in the general sense of the word, the ninja star has enough of a difference to serve as a control object. The ninja star is also made of the same material as the other aircraft. Instructions for each aircraft are attached as an addendum.
The launch angle of the aircraft, also known as the “angle of attack”(Aerodynamics of flight. n.d.) is important as each aircraft design may not produce as much lift as the others. If the angle is too great, the aircraft will lose airspeed and stall; too shallow and it will not gain enough airspeed to maintain lift.
Example of air across a foil with a proper angle of attack: (Pressure, n.d.)
As paper airplanes are closer representations of a sailplane than an actual aircraft or glider, Horizontal velocity, as demonstrated by Bernoulli’s principle is but one of the factors that permit a long length of flight. It was thus decided that a nose angle of 20-25 degrees up, relative to the ground would be a good angle to launch the aircraft; allowing for maximum horizontal velocity.
Example of proper launch angle:
Quantitative Analysis:
The principle of glide, which is synonymous with drag helps account for what aircraft might be the one that has the greatest length of flight. Knowing that the drag coefficient is 0.45 (Shape effects on drag,
n.d.), and the velocity of the air is near zero, one can derive that the aircraft with smaller wingspan will have less drag and therefore should have an easier time moving through the air; thus resulting in a longer flight.(The drag equation, n.d.)
Final results:
Flight Distance
(in Feet)
Attempt #1
Attempt #2
Attempt #3
Ninja Star
20.75
19.59
14.25
Double Wing
9.25
9
4.91
Nose Heavy
10.33
18.33
20
RamRod
21
13.5
13
Mosquito
20.59
13.42
25.59
Graph of results (distance in feet):
30
25
Ninja Star
20
Flight
Distance 15
(in feet) 10
Double Wing
Nose Heavy
5
RamRod
0
Mosquito
Attempt Attempt Attempt
#1
#2
#3
Length of flight(In seconds):
3.5
3
Ninja Star
2.5
Flight
2
Duration
(in seconds) 1.5
1
Double Wing
Nose Heavy
RamRod
0.5
Mosquito
0
Flight #1
Flight #2
Flight #3
The hypothesis proved partially correct, as the aircraft dubbed “Mosquito” had the longest flight in distance, it did also have a large wingspan like Nose Heavy.
Nose Heavy did however, have the longest duration of flight. “Double Wing” for example did not fly very far but seemed to float down to the ground keeping the duration of the flight longer than it otherwise would have been; whereas the flight pattern of “Nose Heavy” did a loop after take-off, glide to a stall, lose altitude and gain horizontal velocity and repeated the process of stall to horizontal velocity gain until it stopped on the floor.
Conclusion:
There was not a strong correlation between the distance and the duration of the flight for most of the aircraft. The difference in air frame architecture can account for some of the differences in flight duration and distance. The difference in flight between the double wing and nose heavy aircraft is a great example where two wildly different styles of architecture, can make a difference in the duration and distance of the flight; considering there is no airflow to affect the flight pattern.
Some of the aircraft took impacts with the ground better than others. The ones which did not seem
to have had their flight distance be shorter with each passing flight. The damage sustained during flights was a lurking variable that could not initially be accounted for, and may have had some effect on the outcome. Little could be done to mitigate this as all aircraft would have impact with the ground at some point. The control object sat firmly in the middle of the pack of flight distance, and from this one is able to draw the conclusion that the method in which it derives its’ lift is not a contributing factor to the distance of the flight.
Ultimately, it seems that the aircraft with the larger wingspans were the ones that did the best overall in testing, defying the convention that a greater amount of drag would result in less horizontal airspeed and a shorter flight.
Bibliography:
Aerodynamics of flight. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/glider_handbook/media/gfh_ch 03.pdf
Pressure. (n.d). Retrieved from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pber.html
Bernoulli’s Principle (n.d.). (1999). Retrieved from http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_tech/node68.html
The drag equation (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/drageq.html
Shape effects on drag (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k12/airplane/shaped.html
UBT1 Task 2
Western Governors University
Introduction:
This report describes an experiment to show what types of paper airplanes will fly the furthest while meeting certain controlled variables. While the general term of flight refers to all aircraft, the experiment does not deal with powered aircraft. Due to this, paper airplanes should be looked at more like a glider or sailplane.(Aerodynamics of flight, n.d.)
Considering that the design, and airframe of each aircraft will be different, this experiment specifically looks at the horizontal velocity as dictated by Bernoulli’s principle in relation to lift, and the principle of glide in relation to the aircraft. …show more content…
Bernoulli’s principle reads as follows: a rise (fall) in pressure in a flowing fluid must always be accompanied by a decrease (increase) in the speed, and conversely, if an increase (decrease) in, the speed of the fluid results in a decrease (increase) in the pressure. (Bernoulli’s Principle, n.d.)
My interest in this came from my sons, who at 11 and 9 are completely enamored with the thought of flight. They are always wondering which planes fly the best, and the furthest with a single throw.
Hypothesis: It is the belief of this researcher that aircraft with larger wingspan which will be able to fly the furthest. The aircraft called “nose heavy” will end up having the longest/furthest flight. The shape, large wing surface, and attitude of the aircraft after launch make it a formidable contender.
List of items needed to replicate experiment:
5 Pieces of parchment weight paper (20lb weight). 1 piece of paper is to be used for each aircraft and the control object. (See addendums for building instructions)
1 Stopwatch; a smartphone with stopwatch app will suffice
1 Tape measure; for measuring distance of flight.
Replication: This experiment can be replicated by using 4 paper airplanes and use of the same controls as listed below. Room size may be substituted; however it is recommended that the length and width dimensions stay at a similar ratio. Distance and duration of flight are both logged to see if there is a correlation between the two measurements. Distance and duration start at the point where the aircraft is released, and are logged at the moment of impact with the ground, not when and where the aircraft finally comes to rest. Duration of flight is measured with a stopwatch, and distance of the flight is measured with a tape measure.
Control 1: All aircraft are made of the same material. White paper, of parchment weight(20lb paper weight, for our experiment). No artificial weight was added to the aircraft.
Control 2: Tests were completed in a room of 100 feet long, by 75 feet wide, and 20 foot ceilings, with any obstructions pushed to the edges of the room, clearing the potential flight path.
Control 3: Although there is an air conditioning unit in the building, it, nor any fans were turned on, so there is no added wind resistance in the test.
Control 4: Aircraft are to be created as symmetrical as possible to prevent too much pitch or roll to one side. The experimental variable is the architecture and airframe of each aircraft.
The experiment’s response variable is the distance of flight, and secondarily the duration of the flight for each aircraft in question.
The aircraft are as follows:
Nose heavy, mosquito, ramrod, and double wing serve as the airplanes’ distance that is being measured.
While the size and shape of the aircraft varies, they all utilize the same manner of flight; which is that of a sailplane.
Ninja Star:This aircraft, is used as a control, as the manner in which it flies and gains lift in a rotational motion is different from the other aircraft which glide like a sailplane. While not an aircraft in the general sense of the word, the ninja star has enough of a difference to serve as a control object. The ninja star is also made of the same material as the other aircraft. Instructions for each aircraft are attached as an addendum.
The launch angle of the aircraft, also known as the “angle of attack”(Aerodynamics of flight. n.d.) is important as each aircraft design may not produce as much lift as the others. If the angle is too great, the aircraft will lose airspeed and stall; too shallow and it will not gain enough airspeed to maintain lift.
Example of air across a foil with a proper angle of attack: (Pressure, n.d.)
As paper airplanes are closer representations of a sailplane than an actual aircraft or glider, Horizontal velocity, as demonstrated by Bernoulli’s principle is but one of the factors that permit a long length of flight. It was thus decided that a nose angle of 20-25 degrees up, relative to the ground would be a good angle to launch the aircraft; allowing for maximum horizontal velocity.
Example of proper launch angle:
Quantitative Analysis:
The principle of glide, which is synonymous with drag helps account for what aircraft might be the one that has the greatest length of flight. Knowing that the drag coefficient is 0.45 (Shape effects on drag,
n.d.), and the velocity of the air is near zero, one can derive that the aircraft with smaller wingspan will have less drag and therefore should have an easier time moving through the air; thus resulting in a longer flight.(The drag equation, n.d.)
Final results:
Flight Distance
(in Feet)
Attempt #1
Attempt #2
Attempt #3
Ninja Star
20.75
19.59
14.25
Double Wing
9.25
9
4.91
Nose Heavy
10.33
18.33
20
RamRod
21
13.5
13
Mosquito
20.59
13.42
25.59
Graph of results (distance in feet):
30
25
Ninja Star
20
Flight
Distance 15
(in feet) 10
Double Wing
Nose Heavy
5
RamRod
0
Mosquito
Attempt Attempt Attempt
#1
#2
#3
Length of flight(In seconds):
3.5
3
Ninja Star
2.5
Flight
2
Duration
(in seconds) 1.5
1
Double Wing
Nose Heavy
RamRod
0.5
Mosquito
0
Flight #1
Flight #2
Flight #3
The hypothesis proved partially correct, as the aircraft dubbed “Mosquito” had the longest flight in distance, it did also have a large wingspan like Nose Heavy.
Nose Heavy did however, have the longest duration of flight. “Double Wing” for example did not fly very far but seemed to float down to the ground keeping the duration of the flight longer than it otherwise would have been; whereas the flight pattern of “Nose Heavy” did a loop after take-off, glide to a stall, lose altitude and gain horizontal velocity and repeated the process of stall to horizontal velocity gain until it stopped on the floor.
Conclusion:
There was not a strong correlation between the distance and the duration of the flight for most of the aircraft. The difference in air frame architecture can account for some of the differences in flight duration and distance. The difference in flight between the double wing and nose heavy aircraft is a great example where two wildly different styles of architecture, can make a difference in the duration and distance of the flight; considering there is no airflow to affect the flight pattern.
Some of the aircraft took impacts with the ground better than others. The ones which did not seem
to have had their flight distance be shorter with each passing flight. The damage sustained during flights was a lurking variable that could not initially be accounted for, and may have had some effect on the outcome. Little could be done to mitigate this as all aircraft would have impact with the ground at some point. The control object sat firmly in the middle of the pack of flight distance, and from this one is able to draw the conclusion that the method in which it derives its’ lift is not a contributing factor to the distance of the flight.
Ultimately, it seems that the aircraft with the larger wingspans were the ones that did the best overall in testing, defying the convention that a greater amount of drag would result in less horizontal airspeed and a shorter flight.
Bibliography:
Aerodynamics of flight. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aircraft/glider_handbook/media/gfh_ch 03.pdf
Pressure. (n.d). Retrieved from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/pber.html
Bernoulli’s Principle (n.d.). (1999). Retrieved from http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_tech/node68.html
The drag equation (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k-12/airplane/drageq.html
Shape effects on drag (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/k12/airplane/shaped.html