FEBE1004: SGDP Report (10/01/2020 - 11:58)

Hand-Launched Aeroplane for Maximum Gliding Distance.

Abstract
A student was required to design, build and test a small hand-launched aeroplane that could glide the furthest
distance. On the many factors affecting glide performance, wind was a chosen factor to propose the testing
regime, the prototypes were tested on the three different directions of the wind. on several tests made were
agreeing with the testing proposed. This gave the insight on the importance of the correct measures that
should be taken in respect to each wind direction whether the aeroplane is launching, flying or cruising
and/or landing.

1. Introduction
Aircrafts are designed to stay on the air and fly, weather phenomena play a huge role to achieve the desire
they made of. Wind is one of the most factors affecting gliders performance. A small hand-launched
aeroplane was designed, built and tested against a proposed testing regime based on the wind as a factor
while measuring flight time and distance of the three prototypes used in testing. The results were then
recorded, and conclusion were made.

2. Background
Centre-of-gravity is where the mass of an object is concentrated or balanced. An object tends to rotate about
that point, air resistance affects this rotation which affects the stability of the aircraft. It is determined adding
the moments (weight multiplied by distance) of all the masses divided by the total mass of the aircraft.

The lift-to-drag ratio is the amount of the lift generated by the wing or the aerofoil compared to its drag. It is
used to express the relation between lift and drag, is determined by diving the lift coefficient by the drag
coefficient.

Wing-loading in aerodynamics is the total weight of an aircraft divided by the area of its wing. The stalling
speed of an aircraft in straight, level flight is partly determined by its wing-loading. Aerofoil is a shaped
body moving through a fluid produces an aerodynamic force.

Factors that affect the glide performance are i.e. aircraft weight and design, wind, weather, altitude and other
atmospheric phenomena etc.

3. Report body

3.1. Methodology
Apparatus: cardboard, 2-litre plastic bottles, glue

➢ Cardboards were cut to form winglets and stabilizers of the aeroplane.

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➢ The 2-litre bottle was used as the fuselage or the body of the plane.

➢ Each winglet was glued to the body until firmly attached to the body.

➢ Both the horizontal and vertical stabilizers were glued at the back of the body.

3.2. Testing
The proposed testing regime
On the factors that influence the glide performance, wind was chosen to be tested based on the three
angles it attacks the plane during the flight, which was tailwind, headwind and crosswind.
Headwind causes a shorter ground roll during both launching and landing of the aeroplane. It
reduces the ground speed of the glider during cruising flight.
Tailwind results in a longer ground roll during both launching and landing of the aeroplane. It
increases the groundspeed of the glider during cruising flight.
Crosswind during launching requires proper crosswind procedures or control inputs to track along
the runway. Crosswind require the pilot to compensate for drift with the proper flight control inputs
during landing. When flight is cruising it causes glider heading and glide track to diverge. In a
glider, it must be remembered that crosswinds have head and tailwind components that results in a
lower or higher ground speed.

Tests were then done; a single person was doing all the tests to ensure that the launch was at the
same height all the time.
3.3. Results
The recordings of the glide distance on table 1 were taken during testing. The aeroplanes were tested against
the angle of attach of the wind on the plane, three directions of the wind were proposed which was a
tailwind, headwind and crosswind. All the three prototypes were tested five times on the three tests and their
distances were averaged to give the values on the table. The results show that tailwind recorded the longest
distances, followed by the headwind and the crosswind with the shortest distances on records of figure 1.

An imposed flight time of five seconds was achieved during testing of the aeroplanes. Since wind speed
during testing was not necessarily constant hence flight speed was not constant, thus affecting the flight time
and glide distance. During testing it was noticed that flight time was not constant on the three winds although
they were all around the desired five seconds. The headwind recorded between five and seven seconds this
was due to a higher drag thus the flight speed decreased and shortened distance. The tailwind was about five
seconds, the flight was fast and over a long distance. The crosswind was plus or minus five seconds, since
crosswind have components of both tail and headwind it is not clear to conclude over the distance and flight
speed.

4. Analysis and discussion

During testing a single person did all the launches to make results reliable and one person recorded the flight
distance in metres and record the flight time.

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5. Recommendations
➢ The mass of the prototypes should be equal and constant to ensure validity of the results.

➢ The prototype must be light in weight since they are hand launched and are unpowered. This require
a good choice of material to use in the prototype and the material should be compatible in order to
easily stick together.

6. Conclusion
In conclusion, as per projects requirements and constraints, the project was successful and informative on the
factors that affect the gliders performance and the fundamentals of the aircraft to fly. The proposed testing
regime complies with the results from the conducted tests.

References
Anon., n.d. Glider Performance - FAA. [Online]
Available at: https://www.faa.gov
[Accessed 05 January 2020].

Appendices
Table 1: Showing flight distances recorded due to three different directions of angle of attach of the wind on the
aeroplane.
Flight Distance Over Different Direction Of The Wind
Trials Headwind Tailwind Crosswind
1 5,6 5,8 4,2
2 5,1 6,2 4
3 5,3 6,1 4,3
4 5 6 4,2
5 5,2 5,9 4,3
Avarages 5,24 6 4,2

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Figure 1: Graphical representation of the tailwind, headwind and crosswind represented in orange, blue and
grey lines respectively.

Figure 2: The picture of the prototype.

Figure 3: The drawing of the prototype.

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