YES Grant

"Design and Construction Using Aeromodels"

Youth Education Stipend Grant
Initial Report
April 24, 2002

Sponsor: Spillway RC Club, Norco, Louisiana

Teacher: Janet Bailey, Metairie Park Country Day School, Metairie, Louisiana

Amount of Grant: $800.00

Amount Spent to Date: $636.98

Amount Remaining to be Spent: $163.02

Plans for Future Expenditures: "Flip" gliders for 20 students for school year 2002-03, "Right Flyer" models for 20 students for school year 2002-03 and Super glue and uncure.

Activities to Date: I have now taught my "Design and Construction" course twice during the 2001-2002 school year. Six students enrolled for the first semester, and 10 students enrolled second semester. (The number of students allowed in the course was limited by the classroom space that I had available.)

First Semester Class Activities:
1. Nov. 2001-Six students built Raven model balsawood aircraft (rubber-band powered). Although these planes were not difficult to build, they did not fly well at all. Students tested them outside, rather that in an enclosed space. The planes stalled and crashed, causing tails to break and wings to crack. None of the planes could be considered successful.

2. Nov. 2001-Loren Bailey from the Spillway RC club came to school and showed several of his radio-controlled planes to the six students. Loren gave a forty-five minute talk which included information on how to get involved in this hobby.

Second Semester Class Activities:
1. Feb. 2002-Ten students used the Seeds, Inc. computer software program which I had purchased to learn about parts of airplanes and how they fly (terminology). Teams of two students worked together to answer questions posed by the program. They found the answers by exploring diagrams and information also provided in the program.

2. Feb. 2002-The students followed instructions included in the Airplane Design software mentioned above to build gliders from a drinking straw and paper. The idea was to experiment with changing airfoil shape; however, the planes did not fly well at all. We tested them in the gymnasium and tried to measure how far they flew. It was generally a frustrating experience for the students.

3. Feb. 2002-The next activity suggested by the software program was to build balsa wood gliders according the plans given in the program. The students cut five different wings for each glider, varying their length and width. Again, the students were supposed to fly each glider repeatedly, measuring the distance and flight time. We tested the gliders in the gymnasium again, but they did not fly well either. Every glider crashed and broke off a section of tail or wing before much data could be collected.

My general assessment of this software package is that the information it contains is very good, but the project are poor. I wonder if the person who came up with the activities actually tried them with students! I have a student who will be doing an aerospace independent study with me in the fall. His plan is to work through all the questions and activities in the software to see what may have been the problem.

4. March 2002-After the disappointing results of the Raven models in the fall, I ordered a variety pack of six different models of planes to build instead. The idea was to find one or two more successful models. Some models included in the package were simple gliders only eight inches long, while others were very complicated rubber-band models with landing gear. Most students had to cover their plans with waxed paper, as the plans were drawn to full-scale. In general, the students had a hard time understanding the directions. Some make mistakes during construction as they did not ready all the way through the directions at the beginning of the project. A lesson learned the hard way in some cases! Everyone succeeded in finishing their model, but some flew much better than others as I had expected. Both the "Flip" model glider and the "Right Flyer" (rubber-band) model flew the best as they both went the entire length of the gymnasium! Needless to say the kids were very impressed and felt their time and effort had finally been worth it!

5. March 2002-Loren Bailey from the Spillway RC club came again to school for a forty-five minute discussion and demonstration of his radio-controlled planes. He again told the students how they could get involved in the hobby.

Plans for future activities and expenditures:
Fall & Spring Semesters 2002-2003 (10 students expected each semester)
1. I plan to order a "Flip" glider and a "Right Flyer" model for each student to build.
2. Loren Bailey said he would be glad to return to give another demonstration.
3. I would like to get the students to actually see radio-controlled planes flying at the Spillway RC's flying field.
4. I will use the computer software to provide students with general information on why planes fly. I will also use it to help students with aerospace independent studies.

Fall Semester 2001

Students with completed Raven models.

Winding the propeller of the Raven.

Launching the Raven.

Loren Bailey, Spillway RC club member, shows students the construction plans for a model plane he will be building.

Loren shows how a wing is constructed.

Pointing out the equipment inside the aircraft.

Demonstrating how the radio transmitter is used.

Revving up the engine.

Ready to taxi in the school's parking lot.

Spring Semester 2002

Students show off their straw and paper gliders.

Launching the straw glider in the hallway of the science building.

Constructing their model.

Constructing his model.

Showing off their completed models.

Showing off their completed models, one of which has already met its demise!

Launching the "Flip" glider which was determined to be the best of the glider models.

Loren Bailey visits the school again to show his models to a new group of students.

Showing the construction plans.

Revving up his engine.

"Design and Construction Using Aeromodels"

Youth Education Stipend Grant

Final Report

October 24, 2002

Sponsor: Spillway RC Club, Norco, Louisiana

Teacher: Janet Bailey, Metairie Park Country Day School, Metairie, Louisiana

Amount of Grant: $800.00

Amount Spent to Date: $796.98

Amount Remaining: $3.02

Sept.-Oct. 2002 Activities:

Six students are currently enrolled in my Design and Construction course for the first semester, and 10 students have enrolled for the second semester. (The number of students allowed in the course is limited by the classroom space that I have available.)

Over the past few weeks, the six students each have built a "Flip" glider and a "Right Flyer" rubber-band powered model. For most of them this was their first experience working with balsa wood.

The "Flip" gliders went together easily; the most difficult part was sanding the correct angle for wing joints. The students then flew their gliders in the school gym during one class period. Unfortunately, only tow of the six survived. Some casualties seemed to be due to poor sanding of joints. The pieces did not fit snugly together, making a weak area. One plane that was well made actually had the whole wing come off of the fuselage. I think this can be avoided next time if the students glue an extra support under each side of the wing to help attach it to the fuselage in more than one place.

Their next project was to each build a "Right Flyer" model. All of the students were again successful in completing their planes, although we had some setbacks along the way. Some completed parts warped after getting wet (leaky ceiling), and the students had to figure out how to straighten them. The directions for building this plane are much harder to follow than those for the "Flip" glider. This presented a problem for a couple of students who glued their wings at the wrong angle. Once again the planes were flown in the gym, but this time four of the six survived the day. The more careful the students were in constructing the plan, the better they flew. This was quite obvious to all of the students and a good lesson to learn.

When asked if building the "Flip" glider was a waste of time, all six unanimously said that it was definitely not. They said it gave them a change to become familiar with working with balsa wood and with the terminology associated with planes. It also helped them to better understand the directions for the harder plane.

Future Plans:

In addition to the ten students that I will be teaching in the spring, I have two seniors who have asked to do an aerospace independent study project with me. They are apparently both interested in pursuing a career in the aerospace industry.

Photographs:

The pages at the end of this report show students participating in the various activities that I have discussed above.

Thank you very much for supporting my efforts to provide students with a truly "hands-on" science course. I feel that many students today have trouble following written direction and never get to actually construct something from scratch. Many students often shy away from science because they think of it as all "book" learning. I hope that I have shown them that learning science can be fun and exciting, and that they can be successful at something if they work carefully and take their time.

Respectfully submitted,

Janet E. Bailey

Trying to get the correct angle for the
wing tips on the "Flip" glider.

Students with completed "Flip" glider models.

Working on the "Right Flyer" model.

Working on the "Right Flyer" model.

A completed model.

More completed models.

A perfect flight.