Fukuchi, Pine, Yamada January 12, 1993

List of Materials:

• Piece of basal wood
• Balloon
• Propeller assembly, includes rubber band
• Glue and tape
• Cloth Paper String (4 pieces)
• Scissors

Description:

Each group will design and construct a vehicle which will try to maintain as much flight time as possible. The vehicle will be constructed from given materials and will be judged by creativity, ingenuity, as well as maximum hang time. All vehicles will be released from the same predetermined height in a controlled environment (i.e., Leavey Activities Center)

Rules:

• All vehicles must be constructed by only those members in each group in a one hour time period.
• Each group is only allowed to use the material given to them by the contest judges. However 9 altering and shaping materials is highly recommended.
• After the one hour construction period, all vehicles will be released by a designated person from each group (group captain). the height at which these vehicles will be released is 5 feet.
• The time will be initiated when the vehicle is released until it has its first contact with the ground.

Contest:

At the conclusion of the one hour construction period, each vehicle will be released and timed according to the rules described above. Points will be given to each vehicle depending on two factors: Hang time and creativity/Ingenuity. The team with the most cumulative points wins.

Judging:

The judges will inspect each vehicle to make sure no foreign substances/materials have been used (i.e. electric motor). The points rewarded for creativity/ingenuity will be the judges discretion from a scale of 1 to 5,5 being the best. The points awarded for creativity/ingenuity will be added to the final time. For example, a score of 4 for creativity will add 4 seconds onto the team's flight time.

Engineering Principles:

Our teams mini project is based on the competition of maximizing the flight time of a vehicle constructed of simple materials, which are given. in physics terms, the contest requires each group to devise an object that can defy the force of gravity the best. An assortment of materials are given to each group to accomplish this feat, including a balloon, propeller assembly, and a piece of cloth. We purposely gave each group plenty of options, material-wise, so that they may come up with a wide variety of solutions to defy gravity. For example, a cloth may be used as a drag force, which counter the force of gravity. On the other hand, the balloon or propeller could be used to power the vehicle and thus defy gravity. Or for the more complex, a ultimate flying vehicle. The group may take into consideration any aeronautical or aviation knowledge to help them in their planning. basal wood to construct flaps or a rudder to delay the vehicles descent. The use of rudders and flaps also take Into account the laws of fluids, which is the way the air bends around the vehicle for lift. Finally, aeronautical forces such as drag, lift, thrust, and friction will also play certain roles in the flight of the vehicles. A simplification of this contest is who can build a vehicle that will fall, due to gravity, the slowest.