Group Reflection On Making Of Glider

On our first meet up, we brought paper cardboards, empty shoeboxes, foamboards, mounting boards and tapes to create the glider. We started of going online to search for references on different glider designs. We then confirmed on a design and the dimensions for the plane. Next, we measured, drew then cut out the design we chose on the cardboard of the shoebox. We then used tape to secure the different parts of the plane together. We then conducted our first flight test. During the flight test, we realized that both the model of the glider and the materials used aren’t suitable for it to glide smoothly. When the glider was thrown, it always flips over to the side and drops to the ground. This should be caused by the material used as there is air in between the cardboard. We then moved on to try using the next type of materials we have.

Our next try was using foam boards and mounting boards. We created a few planes of the same design we did previously and did a test flight. This test flight was slightly more successful as the plane does not flip in mid air. However, the plane only flies for a very short distance and swoops down towards the ground. This was due to the heavy weight of the foam boards and mounting boards. Therefore, we decided to try another material, which was the thin styrofoam board where we could get from Art Friend. 

Planning for glider's design and size

One of our very first plane designs
Material used: Paper cardboard, paper clips and tape.

Material used: Paper cardboard

Glider with aerofoil
Materials used: Mounting board, paper and tape.

On our second meet up, we made improvements to the structure of the glider. We used the Styrofoam board which we bought from Artfriend over the weekends. It is much lighter and has a smoother surface than the cardboards and mounting boards we used previously. We did our research and we found out that there’s a slight velocity improvement and better penetration if the material we use has a smooth, glossy surface.

Styrofoam from Art Friend

A short video on the testing out of our plane

Also, we reduced the wing loading to prevent breakdown of laminar flow over a wing with a hybrid of Styrofoam and taped construction. We put into account of the aspect ratio of the glider. The glider needs to have higher aspect ratios (Long thin wings) and thus, it can glide a long distance above the ground. We did a test flight for the gliders and went into a conclusion of which glider had the best maneuverability.

On the design part, we chose black for the overall plane body since it resembles the stealth plane. The red and yellow arrows show speed and agility of the glider. We placed a small amount of blutack on the tip of the glider to ensure a balance in the weight of the glider.

Our final glider design