Paper Airplane Project – Spring 2006

Goal:

Construct 2 paper airplanes out of the materials provided. One plane will be built to stay in the air the longest and a second airplane will be built to travel the farthest distance.

Materials:

-Standard copier paper stock (8.5” x 11”).

-3” of scotch tape may be used in the construction.

-1 standard paper clip may also be used.

***All materials will be provided by Mr. Duhrkopf***

Rules:

1) Build 2 paper airplanes for the project. One plane is in the time contest and the other for the distance.

2) The entire sheet of paper must be used, although it may be folded anyway you like.

3) You will get 2 chances with each airplane with the best flight counting. I will time the flights.

4) Launch will commence from a standstill in the mezzanine in the gym.

5) The flight is considered dead if it hits the floor, the wall, or a person.

Timeline:

We will spend 1 class day for test and design and 1 class day for the actual flights.

Grading:

This is a 60 point lab project; 30 pts for the longest time and 30 points for the longest distance. A post-flight analysis report will also be required and is worth 10 points.

Anyone who can put their airplane in the bucket in the center of the gym floor will receive a “Get out of Test” card. This entitles you to an automatic ‘A’ on the test of your choosing.

If your paper airplane is suitable for flight and is within the rules you will receive 15 pts. You then will receive points based on how long the airplane is in the air and how far it travels. The actual grading scale will be determined after the first day of testing. A possible grade scale would be 1 point for every 5 feet and .5 sec.

You may hire someone to complete one of your 4 flights. It will cost you 3 points to hire this person and the thrower will receive 1 point for completing your flight.