Flying Project

The latest project tasked to the children in 5A is to design and build something that will glide, float or fly (or a combination of these) over as great a distance as possible. 
There are a few main possibilities for this. One is to create something that will glide over a distance like a paper aeroplane. This is usually done by throwing the object where it will land when it will run out ion power. The second option is to create something that will float (helium balloons are a great place to start but it will also need to move forwards). The final option is to make something that will fly using its own power source. This source could be something like air but there could be other possibilities. 

We have discussed the difference between flying and falling gracefully so simply throwing an object like a ball won’t cut the mustard this time. :) They have been told to expect failure and this week have we have been looking (and laughing) at the many many attempts people have made to make flying objects over the years. 

We will be testing them once all the projects are in and I’m really looking forward to seeing what ideas the children come up with. As with all science projects I would like them to record their ideas, designs, modifications, failures, etc.
There are also some great designs available online that use a variety of everyday items such as elastic bands to generate the power to fly but they should also try to come up with their own ideas. The videos below are a great place to start. It’s a 3 part video about the engineering behind making a paper aeroplane and the concepts of Lift, Drag and Gravity are well explained in them.​