Glider project and drawing the glider
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glider_paper_2.docxRunning head: GLIDER EXPERIMENT 1
GLIDER EXPERIMENT 5
Glider Experiment
Sultan Alakbari
Middle Tennessee State University
11-05-2015
Construction
Tools
The purpose of the experiment was to construct a Balsa glider and conduct a flight test on it. The tools needed for this project included a tape measure for measuring the dimensions of the glider, a pair of scissors and razor blades and carpenter glue.
Materials
I purchased the raw materials from the hobby lobby shop. These included (Balsa woods, modelling knife, measuring tape, strong glue, and Sandpaper)
Description
I started the construction process from the wing. The wood stripper was the most important tool for this step. I first cut the timber using the balsa into strips to a weight of more than 1 gram but less than 10.6 grams. I used glue to reinforce the joints at the correct angles. I also made allowance for a piece of wood and glue it to under the wing to prevent the finger from crushing the trailing edge of the glider during the hard launches. I then prepared the fuselage and measured the dimensions of the tailpiece and stabilizer. I then smoothen the surface of the tailpiece using sand paper to remove the sharp edges before gluing to the fuselage using carpenter's glue. To assist in the balancing of the model I sanded the stabilizer and rounded the edge of both the tips and edge of the stabilizer.
Flying test
Before the launch test, I marked the floor with a masking tape and measured the flying distant of about 17 feet to the target which was a table. I then began the flight test by launching the model and recording the on a score card. This was meant to help predict the reliability of the balsa glider model on reaching the target. Each set of launch consisted of two throws or more. The weight and balance were varied by adjusting the wings of the model either backward or forwards thereby affecting the flight process. To achieve the longest flight distance, the wings of the Glide was increased to the maximum dimension possible.
Results
At first, the model was observed to have a very heavy tail, hence I used modeling clay to ensure there was a balance until the model was able to glide across the flight distance properly to be so that I could record the findings.
Table 1: Flight test Results
|
Flights |
Glide distance covered (meters) |
Lost altitude (meters) |
Glide Ratio |
|
1st Flight |
3.25 |
2.25 |
1.4 |
|
2nd Flight |
5.90 |
5.00 |
1.2 |
|
3rd Flight |
6.85 |
6.00 |
1.1 |
Table 1 shows the flight test results obtained for the prototype. The glide distance for the first flight was found to be 3.25 meters while the glide distance for the second flight was found to be 5.90 meters and the glide distance for the third flight was 6.85 meters. Hence, the glide distance for the third flight was the longest and the flight distance for the first flight was the shortest. The lost distance for the first flight was 2.25 meters and 5.00 meters for the second flight and 6.00 meters for the third flight. Therefore, the longest lost distance was for the third flight and the shortest lost distance was for the first flight. The glide ratios for the first, second and third flights were 1.4, 1.2 and 1.1 respectively. Hence, the first flight had the largest glide ration and the third flight had the smallest glide ratio.
The average glide distance for the three flights was found to be 5.33 meters and the average lost altitude was 4.41 meters. On the other hand, the average glide ratio for the three flights was found to be 1.22.
Discussion
The glide ratio was computed by dividing the glide distance with the altitude values. This method of glide testing is used for testing the glide distance and the respective glide altitude for each flight. The results indicate that the higher the altitude, the longer the glide distance and similar lower glide altitude will lead to a short glide distance. This is because the glide exploits the high altitude advantage to overcome the air resistance as a result of its motion in the air, hence moving further away from the starting point. The glider could also have lost landing altitude for a given landing speed during the forward travel.
This glide testing method also has challenges in terms of incurring of damage to the mode during landing hence another prototype has to be constructed. In some cases, the wing and/ or the tail became separated from the body hence leading to a less effective flight. Corrective of this challenges included the re-gluing of the separated body parts.
