Aerodynamics (for parents/teachers)

This post gave the kids three basic designs from fold n fly to do their initial testing, then had them create the same fold adjusting the width of the wings or the depth of the point. Here are some of the basic characteristics.

The Basic: this simple design with its consistently wide wings and simple point is designed to have a decent air time and not necessary a great distance. This one should fly slower than one's designed for distance and should be simple for kids to manipulate. If they flip their paper 90 degrees and repeat the folds they will get wider wings and if they can throw consistently we found that this plane could be slightly slower and stay aloft for a good time. When we folded the nose in we had a tendency for the planes to dive bomb a bit and decreased their time aloft but did lead to them going similar distances. Remember though that ever kid will fold differently and the force that they throw with will vary with how excited or frustrated they are, if they get different results it will not be a big deal and will be fairly normal with paper airplanes.

The Stable: This plane is designed to have good air time and potentially do acrobatics (like loops) when folded. We found folding the tip in more led to more acrobatics with the plane and did not really affect our time aloft. Decreasing the width of the wing made the acrobatics less noticeable and increased the distance that we saw. Remember though that ever kid will fold differently and the force that they throw with will vary with how excited or frustrated they are, if they get different results it will not be a big deal and will be fairly normal with paper airplanes.

The Sea glider: this was our favorite plane to make, just because it was so neat to fold and watch it fly. This plane does not go for crazy speed but gliders through the air and can go a good distance. We had a lot of trouble adjusting the wings, but found the thinner wings did not go as far of a distance and increased the acrobatic wobble that we saw in it. The nose being adjusted for us has little impact. Remember though that ever kid will fold differently and the force that they throw with will vary with how excited or frustrated they are, if they get different results it will not be a big deal and will be fairly normal with paper airplanes.

The key in all of this is to let the kids have fun and get an idea that changing the basic design will change how the plane flies in some way, it does not matter how reproducible their results are since kids will fold things differently and throw them differently depending on their mood. Make sure to keep it fun and engaging and all the results will be amazing!