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Project Summary

Difficulty	6  –  8
Time required	Average (about one week)
Prerequisites	Access to a homemade wind tunnel
Material Availability	Readily available
Cost	Average ($50 - $100)

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Sponsor

Sponsored by a generous grant from Northrop Grumman Foundation

Weightless Flights of Discovery Program for Teachers

www.northropgrumman.com/ community/weightless.html

Abstract

Objective

In this project, you will discover which wing (airfoil) design would create the greatest aerodynamic lift.

Introduction

This is a project that can be as challenging as you want to make it. There is always more to learn about aerodynamics, so you can keep refining your designs and trying out new ideas as your knowledge grows.

Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research

To do this project, you should do research that enables you to understand the following terms and concepts:

• airfoil,
• lift,
• drag,
• chord line,
• mean camber line,
• camber,
• aspect ratio,
• angle of attack.

• What are the four forces on an airplane in flight?
• What are the factors that affect the ability of an airfoil to generate lift?

Bibliography

• NASA's Glenn Research Center has a wealth of information on Aeronautics. We recommend that you take some time to explore this site, there's a lot of good stuff here. The "Guided Tours" are an excellent way to navigate through the material.
  Benson, T., 2005. "Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics," NASA Glenn Research Center [accessed January 16, 2006] http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/index.html.
• This page has links to several sources of information on aerodynamics:
  O'Sullivan, J., 2001. "Aerodynamics Information," Aerospaceweb.org [accessed January 16, 2006] http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0020.shtml.
• Here are links to two different online airfoil simulation programs (both require a Java-enabled Web browser). You can test and refine your design ideas on the computer before building the actual models. Both simulators have instructions on how to use them.
  
  • Benson, T. et al., 2005. "FoilSim II Version 1.5a" NASA Glenn Research Center [accessed January 16, 2006] http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/foil2.html.
  • Jones, K., 2006. "Kevin's Online Tools: Panel Code Version 2," Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics, U.S. Navy Postgraduate School [accessed January 16, 2006] http://www.aa.nps.navy.mil/~jones/online_tools/panel2/.

Materials and Equipment

This project requires access to a wind tunnel for testing the airfoil designs that you make.

• airfoils,
• wooden supports,
• weights.

Experimental Procedure

• Six wing (airfoil) designs were created to be of equal length. Three designs were conventional and three were experimental.
• Thin wooden supports of equal weight and length were created for each side of each wing and attached to allow the wing to pivot on the side supports.
• A wind tunnel was created with a one speed motor. Within the tunnel a grid was created to produce a more smooth (laminar) air flow.
• Each wing was flown at both a level position and at a 30 degree angle from a level position. Equal amounts of weight were added progressively to each side of the wing being tested until the wing could no longer hold a level or 30 degrees above level position.
• After failure, the last successful amount lifted (wing, supports and weights were weighed) was recorded in grams.

Variations

• If building a wind tunnel is not an option for you, it doesn't mean that you can't do an aerodynamics project. For example, kites are a great way to learn about aerodynamics. The Wright brothers used kites to test many of their design ideas for their airplane. For more information, see: The Wright Stuff: Using Kites to Study Aerodynamics.

• For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics Project Ideas.

Credits

Christian H. Selby,
Andrew Olson, Ph.D., Science Buddies

Last edit date: 2006-01-16 13:02:38

Career Focus

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring careers in Aerodynamics & Hydrodynamics.

	Aerospace Engineer Humans have always longed to fly and to make other things fly, both through the air and into outer space—aerospace engineers are the people that make those dreams come true. They design, build, and test vehicles like airplanes, helicopters, balloons, rockets, missiles, satellites, and spacecraft.			Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technician Aerospace engineering and operations technicians are essential to the development of new aircraft and space vehicles. They build, test, and maintain parts for air and spacecraft, and assemble, test, and maintain the vehicles as well. They are key members of a flight readiness team, preparing space vehicles for launch in clean rooms, and on the launch pad. They also help troubleshoot launch or flight failures by testing suspect parts.
	Pilot Pilots fly airplanes, helicopters, and other aircraft to accomplish a variety of tasks. While the primary job of most pilots is to fly people and cargo from place to place, 20 percent of all pilots have more specialized jobs, like dropping fire retardant, seeds, or pesticides from the air, or helping law enforcement rescue and transport accident victims, and capture criminals. Pilots enjoy working and helping people in the “third dimension."			Aviation Inspector Aviation inspectors are critical to ensuring that aircraft are safe to fly. They conduct pre-flight inspections to make sure an aircraft is safe. They also inspect the work of aircraft mechanics, and keep detailed records of work done to maintain or repair an aircraft. As problems are identified, they may make changes to maintenance schedules, and may be called upon to investigate air accidents.
	Marine Architect Water covers more than 70 percent of Earth's surface, and marine architects design vessels that allow humans and their cargo to cross through or under those waters safely and efficiently. Some of their watercraft designs are enormous, like merchant ships, which carry huge loads of oil, cars, food, clothing, toys, and other goods, across thousands of miles of open waters. These ships are essential for trade between countries. Other vessels are smaller and more specialized, like luxury yachts or cruise liners. Still others are designed for military purposes.

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