Taking Flight

Materials

· Foam Glider

· Helicopter Kit

· 2-Paperclips

· Balloon

· Straw

· Fishing line

· Feather

· Baseball cards

Procedure

1. Assemble your foam glider’s body, wings and tail. Make sure to place the nose (plastic piece or paper clip) on the front of your glider because this helps with its flight. Fly your glider without the nose and you will see the difference.

2. Grab your OHWOW! paper helicopters and cut them out. Take time to read & follow the procedure. Make sure to fill out your data sheet.

3. To demonstrate Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion you will need your balloon, fishing line and piece of straw. Thread the line through your straw. Blow up your balloon, knot it & tape the balloon to the straw. 

4. Ask someone to hold one end of the line or secure it to something like a door or chair. You will have hold on the other end. As you are holding the line, pull your balloon toward you (like a slingshot), then release it to see how far it travels across the line. Friction and size are factors in its movement.

5. Grab your feather and a baseball card, drop them at equal level and observe which stayed in the air longer. Why do you believe this happened? They are similar but their surface area differs.

6. With the baseball cards provided, build your own plane and test its flight.

The Science Behind it:  

The principle is Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion which states that for every action, there is an equal & opposite reaction. The helicopter flies because the pressure on the upper surface is moving faster than the pressure on the bottom surface due to the shape of its wings.