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| The Glider | Research | Building | Finished Product | Calculations |
The three of us - John, Miguel, and Eric stand with our glider. |
| Flight
Videos
These four video clips show our glider's best flight first (graphed in calculations section) and then three others that were not as successful. The clips show that our glider was launched at a consistant height, but the angle sometimes varied causing the glider to stall. |
http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/aero/Wing31.htm |
Airfoil Shapes
Wing
Tail
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| We researched sailplane airfoil shapes and printed one as a template for our wings. |
| Materials | Tools |
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-The Shoebox
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| We connected our fuselage to our shoebox by cutting a flap in the back, folding and gluing it in. The fuselage was the packaging from the track of a track lighting system. | |
-The Wings
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| We put Duck tape tightly on the top of the wings to curve them for more stability. | We made a mess, but the wings were successful! | We added a tail section to provide stability and make sure that it flies straight. |
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| This is a side view of our glider after several impacts and repairs. | This is the airfoil of our glider | The bottom of our glider is proof that Duck tape can fix anything. |
Glide-Slope ratio is calculated by dividing the distance that a glider flies by the height from which it is thrown. In our case, the glider was thrown from 1.02 meters up and flew for 34.0 meters. 34 / 1.02 = 33 1/3.
Aspect Ratio
| AR | = | S2 | = | S |
| A | C |
AR=Aspect Ratio
S=Wing Span Length
A=Wing Area
C=Wing Chord Length
| AR | = | (8 1/3 ft.)2 | = | 8 1/3 ft. | = | 50 |
| (8 1/3 ft.)(1 1/12 ft.) | 1 1/12 ft. | 9 |
According to Nasa's Glenn Research Center, "High aspect ratio wings have long spans (like high performance gliders), while low aspect ratio wings have either short spans or thick chords (like the Space Shuttle)." This is why we created a glider with a long wingspan.
| Approximate Specifications of Our Glider | ||
| Wing Span:
Chord Length: Thickness: Angle: Camber: Speed: Temperature: Lift
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8 1/3 ft.
1 1/12 ft. 10% of chord 5º 5% 7.5 mph 70º 4.117 lbs (Changes as thrust decreases)
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