PHYSICS
kites
Our kite building process was long but successful. We build 4 kites in general, the first kite was a box kite with only one box, it had a cube shape and was very fragile. The second kite was again a one box design, more sturdy then the one before and it flew just as well. the third was a 2 box kite that was unfortunately no able to fly. However after all the trials and fails our 4th and final kite was amazingly successful. The final kite was the most sturdy one out of our previous trial and was the most mathematical thought out one.
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Questions: The last few kites were the only things that worked. Well other then making diagrams of the kites before attempting them was also something that worked. Something surprising was how hard making the kites became , after making our second one we were out of ideas so we began sketching. But overall I learned how to create air resistance in order to create lift and how knowing the center of gravity of our kites made the lift more durable.
Our First kites had few to no lift what so ever. After research we found that the problem was within the tyvex and wind currents. As the wind traveled through the kite, it did not push against the walls of the kite as much as we had hoped. For the next trials we changed the force as which they had been glued down. Another area in which we improved was when we changed the angle of attack by changing the angle at which he string was attached.
GLiders
Our glider experience was quite fun. we began by putting together already made gliders and measuring its glide ratio, a.k.a the ratio at which the glider covered a certain distance from the height it was thrown. after said glider we made a prototype glider that was used to test our glider making abilities.
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Questions:
The first prototype of my glider did not work very well but after adjusting the wings while testing its flight at the same time I was able to create a better flying glider. Something that was surprising was how after many adjustments the glider was still able to fly. Something that I learned was how weight and center of gravity affect how our glider was able to fly.
Our gliders, although very successful, had some troubles with creating a good glide. At first it began to fly really high and immediately go to the ground. We fixed the by adding a stabilizer, which is connected to the fuselage, helps stabilizing the plane or glider horizontally and vertically.
Final Project
For our final project my classmates and I created a glider launcher that used an air compressor to shoot our hand-made gliders into the air. The idea first began from rockets then led to rocket launcher.
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We assembled 3 pipes that were 3 1/4 in. and attached them with wood glue, after trimming them to 13 in. each. We constructed the gliders from paper and cardboard finalized with colorful spray paint.
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Questions:
The overall idea worked very well. After coming up with the idea, execution was fairly easy. Something that was surprising was how easily our diagrams and calculations worked with the prototype. Something I learned from this project was the way in which air can be useful and powerful and how angle of attacks have a big role in gliders.
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