Arizona MESA

MESA

Paper Airplane for Accuracy

Object
The object of this activity is to construct and fly a paper airplane through a hoop and have it land as close as possible to the center of a target.

Instructions
1. Students will be supplied with one (and only one) sheet of white copy paper and one 15 cm x 1.9 cm strip of heavy clear tape. No other materials may be used in the construction of the plane. The paper may be torn by hand to make it smaller.

2. Students will be allowed ten (10) minutes for construction and no changes in design will be allowed after this period.

3. Airplane as constructed must be flyable; no paper wads or darts will be allowed.

4. Students will launch their planes by hand from a standing position behind a restraining line. Only one launch per contestant will be allowed (no practice flights allowed). Your first launch is your last launch. No mechanical launching devices will be allowed.

Details of the Launch
1. The hoop will be the size of a standard "hula hoop" with a diameter of approximately 84 cm.

2. The hoop should be mounted vertically on a stand so that the bottom of the hoop is about 1.2 meters off the floor.

3. The stand should be placed about 4 meters from the launch site.

4. The target will be placed on the floor about 3 meters beyond the hoop on the straight line from the launch site through the middle of the hoop. The target will be drawn on a piece of paper and taped to the floor.

5. The winner will be the plane which stops closest to the center of the target after having passed through the hoop.

Note: Previous record - airplane landed 4.6 cm from the center of the target

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