DDP Paper Airplane Problem

DDP Blocks 3 and 4

October 4, 2010

Problem statement: After watching the Flight of the Gossamer Condor, I realized that there was much I did not know about flight and how it works. My problem is that the lack of knowledge in this field is preventing me from full understanding of the challenges that the design team of the Gossamer Condor had to face.

Design Statement: Design, make, and test a paper airplane that can be adjusted or modified in order to fly as far as possible and stay in the air as long as possible.

Constraints:

Time:

• 1 class block to research, make and test
• 1 class block to do final test and submit documentation

Materials:

• 4 *sheets of recycled paper for researching different design solutions
• One Paper Clip
• Masking tape
• Strips of balsa wood (one piece 2” X 12”)
• One of the following (you must choose for your final design!)
• A sheet of card stock
• A sheet of vellum
• A sheet of Mylar
• A sheet of High quality printer paper

*all sheets are approximately 8.5” x 11”

Documentation: Your group is to produce one printed power point that follows the Project Lead the Way Design Process:

• Defining the problem
• Brainstorming
• Researching and Generating ideas
• Identifying criteria and specifying constraints
• Exploring possibilities
• Selecting an approach
• Developing a design proposal
• Making a model or Prototype
• Testing and evaluating the design using specifications
• Refining the design
• Creating or making it
• Communicating processes and results