Mmm.....research...

I conducted some research into paper aeroplanes today ^^, and found some really awesome information. Since the basics of why paper planes fly and why real planes fly are the same (learnt from paperplane.org/Aerodynamics/paero.htm), I conducted research on real planes instead of paper ones, as it was easier to find info on.

AND THIS IS WHAT I FOUND::

forces affecting plane flight:

1. engine makes the plane go forward, by providing THRUST.



2. But as the plane is being pushed forward, it is also being held back by air resistance, and this is known as DRAG.



3. the force of gravity on the plane is known as its WEIGHT.



4. counteracting this force is the LIFT, which pushes the plane up.

Now for the plane to fly forward and for it to actually fly, the thrust force has to be greater than the drag force (this can be easily obtained in my experiment, because my paper planes will have a smooth aerodynamic shape, and the force in which i throw it out will be greater than air resistance, although, air resistance will slow it down a little) , and the lift force has to be greater than the force of gravity on the plane.

Source: www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/flight/page.html

So I've decided to use maybe 4-6 different planes with differently shaped wings and repeat my experiment at least 3 times, but I'll see if I get similar results in the first 3 tries first, and if the results clearly show which wing shape is the best, then I might not do the experiment another time, but I guess at this stage, I'll just go with the flow.

Since I'm using the same sized paper for each plane so that it is a fair test, I'm only going to fold the wings differently, and not do any cutting or anything.

I haven't decided yet on the shapes I'm going to use, but this wing shape is definitely going to be included as it is the most popular (it is said that this wing shape flies the furthest, but I'll have to prove that for you guys ^^) and is one of the most basic shapes to fold:

I think most of my other shapes will be folded out of the triangular shape ^^. Can't wait!~

YAY APPROVED

YAY THANKS MS ZHANG!!

My paper aeroplane idea was very random.....I was about to do air pressure (refer to "initial idea" blog), and then Ms Zhang said I needed a independent and dependent variable...so I was trying to explain this whole thing to my dad across the phone in Chinese.

However, I didn't know how to say these variables in Chinese, so I used Chinglish, but then I thought of using an example. And then the thought of a paper aeroplane competition in primary school came to me (we were competing against each other on whose aeroplane could fly the furthest), then the thought of "how the shape of the wings affects how far the plane travels" came to me and I explained this idea to him. He understood, and I realized that I could use this idea for my SRP (it made the dependent and independent variable a lot clearer and easier to find)!

I really hope this experiment turns out interesting....and that I can get good and reliable results.

I'll try and make it as amusing and entertaining as possible for you guys, so look out for updates on the experiment!~