Paper Plane To Float Through Air

Introduction

What lets a paper plane to float through air? And why does the paper plane land? To find this out, we will discover the science in flying a paper plane and also the different forces that act upon the paper plane in order for it to fly and land. These forces apply to real airplanes.

A force would be something that drives or pulls on something else. When a paper plane is thrown into the air, it is given a push to move forward. This is called the thrust. As the plane is flying forward, air is moving on top and underneath the wings providing a force called lift on the plane. If the paper plane receives enough thrust and the wings are properly folded, the plane will reach a greater distance of flight.

As the paper plane sails through the air, the air drives against the plane, decelerating it. This is a force called drag. An example of this could be when you are in a moving car and you put your hand outside the window. The force of the air pushing your hand back as you move forward is drag. The weight of the plane affects its flight and this causes it to land. Weight is a force of Earth's gravity acting on the plane.

Outline

Objective

Find out if the distance a paper plane flies is affected by the drag acting on it / design a basic paper and change its shape not too much to increase how much drag is acting on it. Examine how far your basic paper plane flies and compare that to how far it flies when the drag is increased. How does adding drag affect a plane's flight?

Questions

• What is drag and how does it affect airplane flight?

• How do you think you could change how much drag a paper plane