Monday, April 11, 2011

Balsa Wood Glider

  • Challenge & Brainstorm
We chose to go with a "hang-glider" design, and chose to use all of the materials we were given.
Also, two other constraints would be the weather conditions (windy) and also that the glider must be hand-thrown.

Final Design                                            
Testing
When we tested our glider, it was pretty windy. And since our glider is pretty large, it sort of got wrecked by the wind. To repair our broken glider we put tape along all the wood, which actually worked in keeping it together.


Competition Day

  • On competition day our glider performed just average. In the distance test we placed in 3rd. We did win in the hangtime competition however, which was what we really wanted to do.
  • Improvements
  • - make it smaller, more durable
  • -don't test if it is windy.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Colin,

    I enjoyed the design that your team developed. If we had had better weather, I think it would have done really well. Besides not testing when it's windy, how could you redesign to do well in those conditions?

    You've posted your hand drawn sketches well. They're easy to read and therefore effective at communicating your ideas.

    You used the 4 Quadrant format effectively to gain insight on your design. Please take just a moment to share what these insights have revealed.

    You've done a pretty good job with your criteria and constraints. Would hand thrown be a criteria or a constraint? Would weather considerations be a constraint?

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  2. We could redesign our glider to perform better in the wind by maybe scaling the size down a bit, or reinforcing the wood so it doesnt snap.

    Also, weather would be a constraint, and hand thrown would be a criteria.

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