PAPER AIRPLANE

SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT

 QUESTION

How does the design of

the paper airplane affect
the length of the flight?
 BACKGROUND RESEARCH
 What affects an airplane’s flight? The four forces weight, drag,
lift, and thrust affect the airplane’s flight. Weight is the force
that pushes down on the plane. Weight affects the plane
because it pulls the plane down. Drag is the force that pulls
the plane back. Drag affects the plane because it slows the
plane down. Lift is the force that pulls the plane up. Lift
affects the plane because it acts against weight and lifts the
plane up. Thrust is the force that pulls the plane forward.
Thrust affects the plane because it fights against drag by
pulling the plane forward. The four forces are what affects the
plane’s flight.
 HYPOTHESIS
If the design of the paper airplane is
changed, then the distance of the
flight will be affected.
 MATERIALS

o Paper(8.5 x 11)
o Pencil
o Airplane Design
o Scissors
o Meter Stick
 Procedure
1. Determine airplane design shape, paper weight, and
wing length from research.
2. Create one paper airplane.
3. Partner one launches airplane one.
4. Partner 2 measures length of flight in centimeters.
5. Partner 3 records length.
6. Repeat step three three times.
7. Compared data with another group with a different
airplane design.
 RESULTS

The paper airplanes that were made flew different

distances in the experiment. Airplane one flew
925cm in the first flight. On the second flight of
airplane one flew 1200cm. Airplane one flew 1580cm
on the third flight. Airplane two flew 1000cm for the
first flight. On the second flight, airplane two flew
1350cm. Airplane two flew 1200cm on the third
flight. The paper airplanes distance’s were a little
different.
 GRAPH

AIRPLANE DISTANCES IN CENTIMETERS

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0
TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3 AVERAGE

AIRPLANE 1 AIRPLANE2
 CONCLUSION

Although the distances varied, on average airplane one flew

further. This happened because airplane one was more like a
glider. Airplane two was like a arrowhead. Airplane one
created more thrust. It created more thrust because the
wind glided the plane. Airplane two created more drag. It
created more drag because the wind blew the plane the
wrong way. Airplane two won against airplane one in the
first and second trial. Airplane one got the furthest distance
in trial three and in all.
 FUTURE RESEARCH

Whattype of plane can carry

the most weight?
 RESOURCES
• Brain Pop/Flight
• Alex Deahr
• How do airplanes fly by Dr. Hany Farid
• Bill Nye The Science Guy Flight
 There is a lot of science and engineering (called as aerodynamics) that goes into making a successful paper airplane.
 Weight, lift, thrust, and drag are the four basic forces of aerodynamics. These physics of forces cause an object(flight) to
travel upwards and downwards, as well as faster and slower.

 Weight(also called as Gravity, earth pull its down), Weight affects the plane motion because it pulls the plane down
Paper Airplane: Weight of the paper after design
In real airplane: Full weight of airplane ready to fly e.g. Including passenger, luggage etc.
 Lift is the force that pulls the plane up. Lift affects the plane motion because it acts against weight and lifts the plane up.
Lift occurs when an object moves into fluid ( that means No motion, No fluid, there is no lift)
Paper Airplane: caused by the wings design with proper slope which allows the air to pass under and moving over
In real airplane: caused by the motion of the wings through the air and also with some special attachments controlled by pilot
as required
 Thrust A force is something that pushes or pulls on something else. When you
throw a paper plane in the air, you are giving the plane a push to move
forward. That push is a type of force called thrust.
Paper Airplane: caused by the throw(push) into the air
In real airplane: caused by the propeller or jet engine along the direction of
motion ( reverse thrust will apply while landing to stop the flight quickly.)
 Drag, A frictional force acting against the direction of motion, in simple solid
object has no motion then no drag occurs.
Paper Airplane: resistance occurs while in moving into fluid
In real airplane: resistance occurs while moving into fluid
 Take-Off

 Flying at constant velocity & speed

Lift = Gravity & Thrust = Drag
 Landing
 If it’s in flight, and the forces are equal, then the answer is inertia… A body in
motion will remain in motion. If drag = thrust, then the amount of thrust
going in to accelerate the plane is equal to the air resistance trying to
decelerate the plane, so the speed remains constant.
 When an object is stationary, there is no drag. Drag only occurs when an
object is moving. In general (not always, though), drag increases with speed.
So, if you apply more thrust, it temporarily exceeds the drag and the airplane
speeds up. At the velocity where the thrust equals the drag, the velocity
remains constant.
Hypothesis