Paper Airplanes Lead To New Understanding Of Aerodynamics.

Imagine if you will, a room full of adults who are launching paper airplanes, watching them, before taking notes on the way they fly, how far they flew, and other such information.  Then you go back to your classroom to explain why it's important to do this.  Most of your students would look at you strangely because you've spent so much time telling them not to fly their own creations.  

Several scientists got together to answer the question on what is needed to create a good paper airplane and what is needed for it to have a smooth slide as it flies. In the process of answering the question, these scientists from New York University discovered that the aerodynamics involved in keeping a paper airplane level is different from those that keep a regular airplane stable.  In fact, up until this study, there has been no mathematical model to explain how the simplest versions fly.

Although it is quite easy to make a paper airplane, the aerodynamics involved in their flight is much more complex than expected.  They began with trying to identify what keeps a paper airplane gliding smoothly because a paper airplane has no engine and must use gravity and a good design to cross the distance.  Thus the scientists ended up looking at what factors control flight stability.

Consequently, the scientists built and flew paper airplanes with differing centers of mass to see how they controlled flight stability. To do this, they changed the amount of thin copper tape in the front of the plane so they changed the center of mass.   In addition, they dropped plates with varying weights  into a water tank and took both sets of results to create a new aerodynamic model.  It turns out paper airplanes have a center of pressure that conventional airplanes do not have. 

After it was done, they concluded that the center of mass must be in just the right place so the paper airplane is able to glide well.  If the mass was located on the wing or a little off center, the plane fluttered or tumbled.  If the mass was too close to an edge, it would dive downwards.  If they got the mass in just the perfect spot, the plane glided beautifully. 

Using the data from the flights and dropping plates, scientists created a mathematical model that formed the basis of a "flight simulator" because it was able to replicate the various flight paths. In addition, the modeling program explained why the paper airplane is able to glide so well.  It appears the shifting of the center pressure is due to the thin flat wings of the paper airplane and is responsible for the ability to glide.  It is hoped that these results will be used with drones and gliders in the future.

This is cool.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.