Ready? Set! Fly!
by Kathi Novotny
October 01, 2009
The Axtell seventh grade science class had fun flying their airplanes in a competition to determine who could build the “best” airplane.
First, the students received a straw and construction paper. They had to construct an airplane by making hoops out of the paper and taping them to the straw. Then they practiced flying their airplanes. They performed at least three trials and recorded the distance their plane traveled for each flight. After that they modified their airplanes to determine what variable could make it fly farther. Some of the variables that the students changed were adding more hoops, changing the size or position of the hoops, and shortening the -length of the straw. The students discovered that some of these changes helped their airplanes fly farther while others hindered the flight distance of their airplane.
The students were required to write a report of their findings which included a diagram of their most successful design and data on the distance their plane traveled. Each student presented their findings to their classmates. After the presentations, the students went to the old gym to fly their planes. The students competed in groups of four. After many flights, it was determined that Tyler Jones was the “best” airplane builder.
Congratulations Tyler!
