Observing and Recording Paper Airplane Flight

A flying object moves in three dimensions. Discussing and recording its movement therefore can bring up interesting challenges: spatial thinking in three dimensions, three axes graphing, and even the specialized vocabulary used by pilots. This activity can be a good follow-up to a more open-ended investigation of paper airplanes. See Paper Flight: A Paper Airplane Workshop, https://www.instructables.com/Paper-Flight-a-Pape...

Supplies

One or more paper airplanes, ideally ones with different flight characteristics

Paper

Pen or pencil, ideally three colors

A printed copy of the Flight Data Sheet PDF in Step 2

Step 1: "Every Paper Airplane Has Its Own Personality"

This statement by a student captures the intriguing nature of paper airplanes. Some models are slow and steady, some fast and twisting, some loop and dive. Some like being thrown slowly, some hard. Even a small change can cause your plane to change behavior.

After students have had a chance to fly and observe different planes ask them to think of a way of drawing their plane's flight. Did the plane fly slowly up, then coast down? Did it fly straight ahead, then dive suddenly? Have them watch one flight closely, then record that flight.

Have students explain their drawings and the sorts of motion they show. For example in the drawing above, the short lines are intended to show whether the plane's nose was pointing up or down (the plane's "pitch"); some areas have a spiral line showing how the plane spun while it was flying ("roll"); the overall line shows how high the plane was ("altitude") and the length of the line shows how far the plane flew before it hit the ground ("distance").

You can have students refine their ways of recording the flights, for example adding more measurements and specifics to these drawings, or decide to introduce the more formal 3-axis datasheet described in the next step.

Step 2: The Flight Data Sheet

Recording a plane's flight can also help students learn, or practice, graphing in three dimensions. If you want to introduce these concepts, have students print the flight data sheet (PDF below).

To use, first, fold the sheet in fourths: first in half along the middle line, then fold the bottom edges up along the lines marked "X-axis" and crease.

Stand the paper up as shown. This makes a three-dimensional graph, with the X, Y, and Z-axis. If you have a pipe cleaner you can make a three-dimensional line showing the flight path. With paper and pencil, we will have to draw 2 lines.

Step 3: Graphing X, and Z

Start by drawing your plane's flight in terms of how far it flew (X-axis) versus its height (Z-axis). Starting from the stick figure on the left, draw a line showing the height of the plane as it flew. Just work on the upright part of the paper. The folded paper helps to show that the Z-axis is height. Some students may want to draw the line while the paper is folded (this works with a felt tip pen, but you may need to fold it down to the table to draw with other pens or pencils. Then fold it back up to look at it.)

This drawing gives two dimensions of the plane's flight, but what happens if it flew to the right or left?

Step 4: Graphing X and Y

Look at the paper from above. Now you can draw a line using the x-axis for distance, and the Y-axis to show if the plane went straight ahead, left, or right. (If the Z-axis is getting in the way, you can fold the z-axis underneath the paper and lay it flat.)

You now have two lines on the paper that show your plane's flight using the X and Y, and the X and Z coordinates. It captures the distance, direction, and altitude of your flight.

If you have different colors of pencils or pens you can try graphing flights for different planes and comparing them on the sheet.

Of course, you are limited by your memory of the flight. If you have access to a smartphone, try taking a video or slow-motion video to see more details.

Step 5: Airplane Talk

The ground we walk on may not always be totally flat, but for the most part we move in two dimensions: we talk about turning left or right and going forward or backward. Planes are free to move in three dimensions simultaneously, and their movements can be more complex to describe. The nose of the plane can be pointing up, but the plane might be losing altitude; the plane could be turning left while lifting one wing, or spinning while going up.

Pilots, engineers, and others working on planes need to communicate about all these motions, so there are specialized words used to describe them. Here are some terms you can use to describe paper airplane flight:

Roll — Hold out your arms, then tilt to the left or right. One arm goes down the other up. This is the motion called roll. If a plane is spinning as it flies, it is rolling -- a lot.

Yaw — Hold out your arms and turn your body (including your arms) to the left or right.

Pitch — Hold out your arms and lean forward or backward. Pitch refers to whether the aircraft is pointing up, down, or straight ahead.

Altitude — The height of the plane off the ground.

Distance — How far the plane traveled relative to the ground.

Ground speed — How fast the plane is flying relative to the ground. For example, how long does it take to travel to a city one mile away?

Airspeed — how fast is the plane traveling relive to the air it is flying in. For example, a plane flying at 50 miles per hour directly into a 50 MPH wind, would not get anywhere (it would be like walking on a treadmill). This plane would have an airspeed of 50 mph, but a ground speed of 0.

A lot to think about? We are used to living on the ground, not living in the three-dimensional world of moving air!

This work is made possible by support from STAR, a Biogen Foundation Initiative. The team at Lesley supporting this initiative includes faculty and staff in the Lesley STEAM Learning Lab, Science in Education, the Center for Mathematics Achievement, and other related Lesley University departments and programs.