Hypothesis - I think that if the paper airplane has wide wings and large surface area, the plane will fly slowly with longer time in the air but short distance but if the plane has narrow wings and smaller surface area, the plane will fly faster with shorter time in the air and long distance.

Research Question - What changes in wing shapes and surface area affect the speed and flight distance of a paper airplane?

The Four Forces of Flight Lift: Lift is the upward force that lifts an airplane up. Lift is created by differences in air pressure. The lift must be stronger than the weight to be able to go up. Thrust: Thrust is the forward force that makes an airplane go forward. Thrust is created by the amount of force you throw the paper plane. Thrust must be stronger than the drag to be able to go forward. Weight: Weight is the downward force of gravity pulling the airplane downward to the center of the earth. Weight is created by gravity.  Drag: Drag is the resistance force that acts in the opposite direction of the thrust. It is created by friction.

I will be testing two different wing styled airplanes each with large surface area and small surface area

• Bokslapper (Large Surface Area)
  • It can glide because of the little air resistance (Travels the farther)
  • Bigger wings meaning it can generate more lift (More time in air)
• Road Runner (Large Surface Area)
  • Large wings help generate lift
  • Design is meant for speed and might not glide as well
• Road Runner (Small Surface Area)
  • Flies fast 
  • Might not stay in the air as long
• Bokslapper (Small Surface Area)
  • Can glide but it has smaller wings which produces less lift
  • Might drop quickly or struggle to stay up.

Independent Variable:

• The type of paper airplane design (Bokslapper Large Surface Area, Bokslapper Small Surface Area, Road Runner Large Surface area, Road Runner Small Surface Area)
• The amount of folding / flap size large vs. small folds, folded twice vs not folded

Controlled Variable:

• Same location (hallway)
• Same person throwing the airplanes
• Same throwing speed and strength
• Same starting line
• Same measuring method
• Same timing method
• Same number of trials (3 times each)
• Similar folding accuracy

Dependent Variable:

• Flight distance
• Flight time

1. Go to an empty gym with no wind to keep the results accurate
2. Fold two bokslapper airplanes and two road runner airplane.
   1. Fold two bokslappers, one with flaps folded more than the other.
   2. Fold two road runners, one without folding it twice and the other folded twice.
   3. Make sure all folds are as similar as possible
3. Label the airplanes (bokslapper large, bokslapper small, road runner large, road runner small)
4. Make a starting line on the floor indicating the paper airplane throwing place
5. Throw each airplane with the same speed and strength for accurate results
6. Start the timer and end the timer from the flight start to end.
   1. Then measure.
   2. Then record the results in the log book.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the other airplanes
8. Compare the flight distance and time  
9. Repeat experiment three times for accuracy

Trial 1:

Bokslapper Large Surface area: Time: 1.51s Distance: 5.07 m Speed: 3.36m/s

Bokslapper Small Surface Area: Time: 1.70s Distance: 4.82m Speed: 2.84m/s

Road Runner Large Surface Area: Time: 1.42s Distance: 4.72m Speed: 3.32m/s

Road Runner Small Surface Area: Time: 1.50s Distance: 5.92m Speed: 3.95m/s

Trial 2:

Bokslapper Large Surface area: Time: 2.19 s Distance: 5.66m Speed: 2.58m/s

Bokslapper Small Surface Area: Time: 1.71s Distance: 5.92m Speed: 3.46m/s

Road Runner Large Surface Area: Time: 1.40s Distance: 4.04m Speed: 2.89m/s

Road Runner Small Surface Area: Time: 1.23s Distance: 5.74m Speed: 1.23m/s

Trial 3:

Bokslapper Large Surface area: Time: 1.68s Distance: 4.86m Speed: 2.89m/s

Bokslapper Small Surface Area: Time: 1.60s Distance: 5.29m Speed: 3.31m/s

Road Runner Large Surface Area: Time: 1.94s Distance: 3.95m Speed: 2.04m/s

Road Runner Small Surface Area: Time: 1.20s Distance: 4.68m Speed: 3.90m/s

Average Data

Bokslapper  Large Surface Area  Average Time: 1.79 seconds  Average Distance: 5.20 meters  Average Speed: 2.90 m/s 

Bokslapper Small Surface Area  Average Time: 1.67 seconds  Average Distance: 5.34 meters  Average Speed: 3.20 m/s 

Road Runner Large Surface Area  Average Time: 1.59 seconds  Average Distance: 4.24 meters  Average Speed: 2.67 m/s 

Road Runner Small Surface Area  Average Time: 1.31 seconds  Average Distance: 5.45 meters  Average Speed: 4.16 m/s

Road Runner Small Surface Area - It performed the best in the experiment. It had the highest average speed at 4.16 m/s, longest average distance at 5.45 m, and the shortest average time in air at 1.31 seconds. This hapened because the smaller surface area reduced air resistance, which made the plane move faster through the air and travel further. Since the plane had both longer distance and short flight time, its speed was the highest compared to the other designs. This shows that the flight improves with less surface area that causes drag during flight

Bokslapper Small Surface Area - This plane placed second. It had an average speed of 3.20 m/s, average distance of 5.34 m, and average flight time of 1.67 seconds. The smaller surface area helped reduce air resistance, making the plane to fly further than the large surface area version. But it produced little bit les lift and stability compared to the Road Runner. The results show that reducing surface area can improve flight but slightly affect the stability.

Bokslapper Large Surface Area - This plane placed third. It had average speed of 2.90 m/s, average distance of 5.20 m, and average time of 1.79 seconds. The larger surface area made more air resistance which slowed the plane down. The larger wings helped provide more stability and allowed the plane to stay in the air slightly longer. This shows that large surface area can improve stability but they can also increase drag and reduce speed.

Road Runner Large Surface Area - This plane placed last. It had average speed of 2.67 m/s, average distance of 4.24 m, and average time of 1.59 seconds. The large surface area increased air resistance which slowed the plane’s thrust and reduced the distance. Increasing drag made it harder for the plane to fly faster. This shows how large surface area can be a problem for creating lift and reducing drag.

Based on the data, it shows that changing the surface area and the wing shape highly affected the flight distance, time and speed. The best plane that placed first was the Road Runner Small Surface Area. It had the highest average speed at 4.16 m/s, the longest average distance at 5.45 m, and the shortest average time in air at 1.31 seconds. This happened because the smaller surface area reduced air resistance. This shows that the flight improves with less surface area that causes drag during flight. The plane that placed last was the Road Runner Large Surface Area. It had average speed of 2.67 m/s, average distance of 4.24 m, and average time of 1.59 seconds. The large surface area increased air resistance which slowed the plane’s thrust and reduced the distance. Increasing drag made it harder for the plane to fly faster. This proves my hypothesis wrong because wide wings and large surface area actually creates the most lift but at the same time it increases drag and decreases its stability. A source of error that might affect this might be the changes throwing speed or strength but I kept throwing the same constantly. One way I can improve is to get a longer measuring tape so the measurements are a tiny bit more accurate. In conclusion, changing the wing shape and surface area can affect engineering aircrafts and that knowing which wong shapes are best for the aircrafts will benefit their flight.

• Understanding how wing shape and surface area can help engineers with building aircrafts. Testing which wing shape and the amount of surface area needed to properly balance and help the airplane fly without as much air resistance
• Knowing which planes have less air resistance can help engineers design planes that fly faster and farther without using more fuel which also helps the environment
• In sports knowing aerodynamics and air resistance can help athletes who are throwing javelins and it can change the path and distance of the javelin if they throw it at a different angle and speed.

• Uneven folds of the airplanes
• Ripped or damaged paper
• Wind disrupting flight
• Different throwing forces or speed
• Accidentally stepping over the starting line
• Throwing at a different angle
• Creases on the plane
• Edges curling
• Measurements are not accurate
• Timing not accurate
• Not doing enough trials

• https://howthingsfly.si.edu/forces-flight/four-forces
• https://drpress.org/ojs/index.php/HSET/article/view/20044?
• https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Aero_p046/aerodynamics-hydrodynamics/how-far-will-paper-planes-fly
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8d-6J8zlLw
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izK8I06suLo

• Mrs. Pepper for mentoring
• Ascension of our Lord school for the science experiments taking place in the lab or hallway
• Youtube for the tutorials used to make the paper planes
• Google websites (citations) for the research