| I still play with paper airplanes! There nothing wrong | | | | Now we come to the hands on fun part of the project |
| with that and if you take a little trouble over it, making | | | | - making the planes. But we're not talking of just folding |
| crazy airplanes can become the most fun and | | | | a piece of paper so it glides through the air. Come on, |
| rewarding (in terms of scores) of science fair | | | | that's not going to impress the folks who judge |
| experiments. You don't need any special equipment | | | | science fair experiments! You are going to use the |
| and you can keep experimenting until you have the | | | | paper and glue to make real model airplanes that fly. |
| airplanes you want to show. | | | | Besides books and magazines (ask your librarian for |
| This experiment demonstrates the basic principles of | | | | help in finding these) there are some websites that can |
| flight. And who is not impressed with a glider floating | | | | help you a lot with easy designs to follow until you feel |
| smoothly through the air? | | | | you know enough to experiment on your own. Here's |
| Doing your research | | | | a tip - when you want to experiment, make a new |
| But its not all fun and games. Before you start on this, | | | | plane, don't change ones you have already made. That |
| or in fact, any science fair experiments, you need to | | | | way, if the experiment doesn't work, you still have the |
| know the science behind what your project will | | | | ones that do. |
| demonstrate. The first thing you need to know for this | | | | What your project should demonstrate |
| project are the meanings of some technical terms | | | | Just making a paper airplane the floats in the air for a |
| related to airplanes. This will help you to understand | | | | while won't impress the judges. You need to have |
| why your plane flies the way it does and also to | | | | several models, each with different flight |
| explain it to the judges at the fair. The terms you need | | | | characteristics. For example one should fly for a good |
| to research are - airfoil, aileron, camber, center of | | | | distance; another should stay in the air for a long time |
| gravity, center of lift, dihedral, elevator, fuselage, | | | | and the third should do a maneuver like turning. This is |
| horizontal stabilizer, rudder and vertical stabilizer. You | | | | where your research comes in. Once you have made |
| can find out all about these and other technical stuff | | | | a few basics models, your research will tell you what |
| about flight from NASA's website. | | | | changes you need to make to get the flight results you |
| Getting your materials together | | | | want. And the more results and types of flight you can |
| All you need is paper and glue. But ordinary writing | | | | demonstrate, along with explanations of why the |
| paper won't do - its not stiff enough. Ask your | | | | planes fly the way they do, the more the judges will be |
| stationery store for Japanese Kent paper. If they don't | | | | impressed. |
| have it, buy some sheets of cardstock. The glue can | | | | Two final cautions |
| be any ordinary white glue. Oh yeah, you'll also need a | | | | - No matter how well the planes fly, they need to look |
| pair of scissors. What you are going to be doing is | | | | good too. |
| gluing paper sheets together so that they are thick | | | | - Planes fly differently in different conditions. Practice |
| enough to retain their form properly when you shape | | | | your flights under the same conditions as you will have |
| them. | | | | at the science fair venue so you are sure of how your |
| Making the airplanes | | | | airplanes will perform. |