Flight Engineering Lab
Welcome to the Flight Engineering Lab.
Today you build three things that fly: a paper helicopter, a paper airplane, and a flyer for a real wind tunnel. No engines. Same four forces every time. Build it, test it, change one thing, test again.
Watch first: the four forces that act on everything that flies.
Everything that flies fights the same four forces. Keep them in your head all day.
- Lift — air pushes up. Wings and blades push air down, so the air pushes back up.
- Weight — gravity pulls down. Heavier needs more lift.
- Thrust — the forward push. Your arm is the engine for the airplane.
- Drag — air pushing back. More surface = more drag.
Balance decides if it flies straight or tumbles. Center the weight and it flies smooth.
Why it spins: the two blades bend opposite ways. Falling air pushes them sideways and spins the whole thing. Spinning blades grab more air and slow the fall. A maple seed does the same thing. So does a real helicopter if its engine quits. It is called autorotation.
- Cut a paper strip about 2 cm wide, 20 cm long.
- Cut an 8 cm slit down the top middle to make two blades.
- Fold one blade toward you, the other away.
- Add one paperclip to the bottom.
- Hold it up as high as you can. Drop it (do not throw).
- Time how long it stays up. Do it 3 times.
- Drop from the same height every time, or your numbers do not count.
Pick one. Only one, so you know what made the difference.
- Blade length — longer or shorter
- Weight — add a second or third paperclip
- Blade width — trim them narrower
- Paper — switch to cardstock
Predict first: more paperclips means it falls faster or slower? Guess, then find out.
Watch the fold, then build your own. Change it to match your goal.
Pick ONE goal:
- 🎯 Distance — fly the farthest. Build a dart: narrow, pointy, nose a little heavy. Low drag, flies far.
- 🕐 Hang time — stay up the longest. Build a glider: wide wings. More lift, floats slow.
Diving or flipping? Add a paperclip on the nose to move the weight forward.
- Fold a plane for your goal. Keep both sides even, or it curves.
- Throw 3 times in the lane. Measure distance or hang time. Keep your best.
- Change one thing, then throw again: nose weight, wing size, flaps (bend the back edge up to climb), or a slight wing V to fly straighter.
Range rules: throw one direction only, wait for the go signal, never aim at a person, grab planes only when called.
Up front there is a real wind tunnel. The goal flips: instead of falling, keep your flyer floating.
- A helper lifts the tube to open a gap.
- You place your flyer in the air above the fan.
- The helper lowers the tube to catch it.
- Raise and lower the tube to find the sweet spot where it floats.
Bring your best helicopter or build a new flyer (coffee-filter parachute, paper cone, foam shape). Light and balanced floats. Heavy and lopsided drops or goes wild.
- Longest flight — float the longest
- Shortest flight — drops out the fastest
- Craziest flight — wildest spin, wobble, or flip
- Best spinner — spins on purpose and stays in
Quick test: crumple one paper into a ball, leave one flat. Same weight, different flight. Which matters more, weight or shape?
You found this by testing, not from a book. Here is what it is called:
- Terminal velocity — lift and drag balance gravity, so it falls at a steady speed. Your best hover lived right there.
- Autorotation — angled blades turn falling air into spin, and spin into lift.
- Lift vs drag — big surfaces make more of both. That is why a dart and a glider look opposite.
- Center of gravity — where the weight sits decides steady or tumble. The nose clip was you moving it.
- Mass vs surface area — heavy and small drops, light and wide floats. The flat sheet and the crumpled ball proved it.
- What one change made the biggest difference?
- Where have you seen terminal velocity? (skydivers, parachutes, falling seeds)
These forces are real jobs within an hour of this room.
- March Air Reserve Base — right here in Moreno Valley. Cargo jets, aircraft crews, and the March Field Air Museum next door.
- Aerospace engineer — designs planes, drones, and rockets. Tests them in wind tunnels.
- Drone pilot — mapping, film, farms. You can earn an FAA Part 107 license at 16.
- iFly Ontario instructor — a wind tunnel people fly inside, about 30 minutes away. Certification based, no 4-year degree needed.
Closer than you think: Cal Poly Pomona has aerospace engineering and UC Riverside has engineering 15 minutes away. Start at Moreno Valley College and transfer.
Before you leave, share one word for today. Just one.
Nice flying. Three builds, zero engines. You controlled lift, weight, thrust, drag, and balance, and you changed one thing at a time. That is the job.