Paper Stomp Jets

I love things that fly, so it seems natural that my kids do too.

A while ago, I put together the instructable Paper Stomp Rockets. It was a great project, and my kids loved making and shooting them off.

I was looking for something to do with my kids today, and got the idea to revisit this basic stomp-bottle propulsion idea.

This time, instead of rockets, we made little paper jets that you launch sideways that can have their control surfaces tweaked and adjusted to determine their flight. The video below shows some of our first flights, which were pretty crazy.

After the video below was shot and our first models were thoroughly trashed, I made another plane and spent some time gently flying it by hand and fine tuning it. Once I got it dialed in, it flew extremely well off of the launcher, and not near as wildly as our original attempts. I was very impressed, and actually kind of surprised!

This turned out to be a great introduction for my kids to see how airplanes work. They were able to experiment with the jets to see specifically what the ailerons and elevator actually do to a plane. (The rudder was there too, but it didn't effect the planes much.)

I definitely recommend giving this project a go, and patiently working on fine tuning the planes to really make them fly. It's worth it.

I've included a template for the planes when you get to step 5.

Check out the video below. I hope you try this out!

Step 1 The launcher

The launcher is made from 1/2" PVC. You will need the following fittings, along with some used 2-liter bottles:

• One 1/2" four-way fitting (all fittings are of the slip variety)
• Two 1/2" end caps
• One 1" coupling
• One 1" by 1/2" bushing
• One 1/2" 45-degree elbow

The assembly is exactly the same as what I have posted for the stomp rockets, except for the change to the 45-degree elbow. Please see that instructable for additional details on building a launcher.

Comments

[john12345678910]

this is cool i am going to try it this summer

[HandyMan1959]

Is there a reason you didn't make the wings one piece?

[doxsys]

This would work well with Make's Compressed Air Rocket Launcher: http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKRS1

[seamster]

Yes it would. I did compressed air rockets in scouts as a kid, and this project was partly inspired by those.

[bgepp1]

this is really cool! I love that video. I am sure you were the hero on the block that day! Nice work.

BG

[actimm]

As, in your own words, the rudder doesn't do much, you could simply make the rear wing slightly larger and put about a 30 degree bend in it. This would still give you a certain amount of directional stability and keep you from stressing about trying to tweak the rudder about.

[seamster]

Definitely, a v-tail would simplify the build even more. Good tip!

[Delo97]

This is a GREAT idea! I don't think I'll build the base, because that would be expensive, but the jet/glider is REALLY good, and I'll be probably make some of them out of cereal boxes and wood sticks using your template, and launch them by hand.

[chrispix]

The parts for the launcher should cost less than $10 at Home Depot.

[magifarm]

Yay for Daddy! Your kids must have lots of fun!

[rimar2000]

Very nice design!

[splazem]

This is awesome!

[OrigamiAirEnforcer]

What would the range be?

[seamster]

I made one do barrel rolls that flew straight for about 100 feet. It's one of the clips in the video I think.

[earlyflyer]

I'm stopping at the hardware store for some PVC pipe on the way home today!

Great idea and nicely prepared Instructable.

Thanks!

[Kaptain Kool]

These look awesome! What a great idea!

[PKM]

At the risk of complicating and adding expense to a brilliantly simple, cheap project, there are some surprisingly small and cheap "spy cameras" around which might make a great addition to these planes.

With or without, though, they look like great fun and I wish I'd had something like this around when I was little!

[ynze]

Pretty cool! We're gonna have lots of fun this summer :)