Science Fair Project Ideas That Win Awards - Project #16 - Crazy Airplanes [sciencetechnology-center.blogspot.com]
I still play with paper airplanes! There nothing wrong with that and if you take a little trouble over it, making crazy airplanes can become the most fun and rewarding (in terms of scores) of science fair experiments. You don't need any special equipment and you can keep experimenting until you have the airplanes you want to show.
This experiment demonstrates the basic principles of flight. And who is not impressed with a glider floating smoothly through the air?
Doing your research
But its not all fun and games. Before you start on this, or in fact, any science fair experiments, you need to know the science behind what your project will demonstrate. The first thing you need to know for this project are the meanings of some technical terms related to airplanes. This will help you to understand why your plane flies the way it does and also to explain it to the judges at the fair. The terms you need to research are - ai rfoil, aileron, camber, center of gravity, center of lift, dihedral, elevator, fuselage, horizontal stabilizer, rudder and vertical stabilizer. You can find out all about these and other technical stuff about flight from NASA's website.
Getting your materials together
All you need is paper and glue. But ordinary writing paper won't do - its not stiff enough. Ask your stationery store for Japanese Kent paper. If they don't have it, buy some sheets of cardstock. The glue can be any ordinary white glue. Oh yeah, you'll also need a pair of scissors. What you are going to be doing is gluing paper sheets together so that they are thick enough to retain their form properly when you shape them.
Making the airplanes
Now we come to the hands on fun part of the project - making the planes. But we're not talking of just folding a piece of paper so it glides through the air. Come on, that's not going to impress the folks who judge science fair experiments! You are going to use the paper and glue to make real model airplanes that fly. Besides books and magazines (ask your librarian for help in finding these) there are some websites that can help you a lot with easy designs to follow until you feel you know enough to experiment on your own. Here's a tip - when you want to experiment, make a new plane, don't change ones you have already made. That way, if the experiment doesn't work, you still have the ones that do.
What your project should demonstrate
Just making a paper airplane the floats in the air for a while won't impress the judges. You need to have several models, each with different flight characteristics. For example one should fly for a good distance; another should stay in the air for a long time and the third should do a maneuver like turning. This is where your research comes in. Once you have made a few basics models, your research will tell you what changes y ou need to make to get the flight results you want. And the more results and types of flight you can demonstrate, along with explanations of why the planes fly the way they do, the more the judges will be impressed.
Two final cautions
No matter how well the planes fly, they need to look good too. Planes fly differently in different conditions. Practice your flights under the same conditions as you will have at the science fair venue so you are sure of how your airplanes will perform. More Science Fair Project Ideas That Win Awards - Project #16 - Crazy Airplanes IssuesQuestion by x0x0x: What is a good science magazine for teens? I am interested in science and medicine and would love to find a magazine about these topics that I could understand as a high school student. Any suggestions? Thanks! Best answer for What is a good science magazine for teens?:
Answer by G.W. loves winter!
Scholastic Science World Magazine.
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