Science Olympiad Wright Stuff - The Flight of "Bob Jr."

[csdryan]

Do you remember the number of cranks you used?

[brans556]

How many times did you wind it?

[siluvoreos]

how do you do this?

[youbub33]

Model Aviation an Educational Activity

youbub33 More about Wright Stuff in that video.

[ExtremePatosai]

DoctorDraco, I have two questions about your plane.

1 - How did you make the airfoil for the wing?

2 - It looks like your propeller is spinning quite fast. How thick is your rubber band

[ExtremePatosai]

Woops, I also have another question I forgot to add.

If you remember, how long was your plane?

[DoctorDraco]

1 - The covering? It's just thin mylar.

2 - I do not remember, this was 4 or 5 years ago. Same goes for the length.

[ExtremePatosai]

Ah, okay, I think I have have misplaced some words. In question one, I actually meant:

For your wing, did you bend some balsa wood to create the frame for the wing (the airfoil part)? If you did, how? It's okay if you forgot, I'll just have to try some things myself.

[DoctorDraco]

No, I cut the ribs from a sheet of wood. Basal is fragile, it would be hard to bend it that much.

[ExtremePatosai]

Thanks!

[bluecobra95]

If you do want to bend the wood for the ribs, you can soak it in water overnight, then mount it on a rig; that could be a peice of hardwood cut into the correct shape or a board with nails. The only thing is that the wood will spring back a bit, so that might put extra stress on the joint, or mess up your desired airfoil. This is rather time consuming with no real advantage, so sliced ribs are mainly used for WS. Sorry if you've already figured all this out ^.^

[DoctorDraco]

Were all the scraps cut consistently etc.?

[Mesuni]

Lol, I have Flying Bird to do where it's just like this but they have to flap! ^.^ The big struggle for me is getting it to stay in the air longer, ecspecially because that's what you're ranked on (without penalties)! Any advice? xD *is hopeful*

[DoctorDraco]

Since I don't know much about building ornithopters, I would suggest asking around on the student forums (scioly . org), googling what others have built, etc. Basically you just need to read up!

[Mesuni]

xD Ah, ty for the comment! Yeah, I've been goind around on different sites and tweaking the one I built! ^.^

[DoctorDraco]

On a winder, right?

And if your prop is bad you should get a new one. Did you build this yourself or from a kit?

[DoctorDraco]

How many winds are you putting on it?

[DoctorDraco]

lol.

[MessiahsPassion]

Hmmm. Well, make sure not to use super glue. I made the mistake, and the wing just became too heavy. But when attaching places where strong support is needed, go ahead. But when covering mylar or Japanese Tissue onto the wing, use 80% glue, 20% water and mix then together. They work well, and it's not that heavy. Good luck. My competition is this Saturday. -Nervous like crazy-

[DoctorDraco]

Good luck on Saturday!

[ExtremePatosai]

Did you glue the tissue onto the wing? or did you tape it?

My competition is also on Saturday :[

And how do you know how much glue to put in (from 80% glue and 20% water)?

[nwo2895]

Hi, i'm also endeavoring to build a plane for Wright Stuff

Just a quick question:

What adhesive are you using?

[DoctorDraco]

For the wood I always just used the very light hobby super glue, and used it sparingly. I don't remember the brand, but you can get it from hobby shops or hardware stores.

For attaching the mylar I just used spray glue on the wings and stuck on a sheet of the plastic and trimmed accordingly.

[MessiahsPassion]

hmm. Well, I've been practicing my plane for a long time. Thanks to Doctor Draco's advices. But I have a question for those who know. How many times do you think I should wind the rubber? Always when I get to a thousand, it snaps, and it's tense. Every time, we do with a 900 spin, but the best we get is like 1:36. The first time we tested, we got 2:08, but the time is so hard to get right now. I guess I'll win a medal even from 1 minute 36, but I'm aiming for first this year, even regionals.

[pmedalie09]

i wound mine about 1500 times (100 times with a 15:1 winder). i used a .093 rubber band. make sure to lubricate the rubber band beforehand with son-of-a-gun and as you wind it, walk towards the plane. im sure you already did all that so sorry if you did.

[curlyjefferson666]

never once did we get ours to fly more than 5 seconds. it would always break. we even ended up spraying glue with a lighter in front of it and lit it on fire.

[csdvideos08]

cool i got this event this time i hope we do good u guys are good good luck we havent even got flight off yet cause of minor stuff like the rubber band not twisting propellor but we will get it lol

[Knexpert101]

I am doing this event in New Mexico, and so far i have built and crashed(numorus times) ONE plane. i've rebuilt and patched this plane it almost isnt the same one.....TorC schools qualified for state, (tied for 3rd)but my WS plane did the old "crash and burn"......what to do.....

[kswish16]

Thank you for the input.But where can i buy mylar?

[kswish16]

What design is this plane called.And what angle did you put your wing tips at, im new to this and i would like to know some tips on building a good plane.We only got our plane to stay in the air for 15 seconds.Also What kind of material should i use for the wings?

[DoctorDraco]

It's just a monoplane.I suggest starting with a kit from Ray Harlan and making modifications to your liking.

I have no clue what angle I had them at - it varies from plane to plane. You have to find that for yourself.

Tips? Trial and error. I cannot tell you how many planes I've made.

Mylar is the best for covering the wings.

[iArtemis]

I'm doing this event this year. I'm looking forward to getting a good time. I'm having fun with it. I'll probably film one of our tests and send it to you.

[MessiahsPassion]

Did you twist the stabilizer in order to make it spin?

[DoctorDraco]

Except when you've been doing WS as long as I have you'll realize that is a bad time.

Granted I don't know the dimensions of the planes this year (because the event has been cycled out), so they could be much smaller.

[FaTb0yO92]

Seeing as I did this event today (at a low-key invitational) I don't think it has been cycled out.

[DoctorDraco]

You're a fool. It's been cycled out of HS and back into middle school. Start paying attention to things.

[Musicrcker9587]

i think wright stuff should stick to being a HS event instead of a middle school event because idk its just easier to do BLG, which my team last year got 1st place for it in states....but do you know what is a good time for Wright stuff airplanes? becuase im doing this event this year and im having a real hard time figuring out what time is good and like what design i should do for my plane...any recomendations for a design?????

[DoctorDraco]

Not necessarily. My plane's always had one side that was lower than the other and twisted, as well as being offset slightly. That's one factor that made it fly in the ccw direction.

[MessiahsPassion]

How did you manage to have the airplane not to fall downward? -I have the broad propeller-

[DoctorDraco]

Many different things. Usually it has to do with the number of rubber band winds and your wing settings. You always need to test, test, test! You cannot expect to win a competition by building the plane the night before and never flying it. I can't tell you how many hours I put into my planes over the years, but it is A LOT.

[OnlySanePerson]

Funnily enough, I built a BLG last year, the night before and got first. The reason was because I spent an hour before the competition, balancing my plane. People seem to think that trimming weight is most important, but I added weight to the front to balance it, so that it flew correctly. It ended up blowing away the competition.

[MessiahsPassion]

Can you tell me how big your plane is? Like its wing chord and the length of the wing, and the stabilizer. By the way, doesn't the rubberband rip when wound too much?

[DoctorDraco]

No, I can't. They cycled Wright Stuff out of the HS events for a while, and I don't remember any measurements from last year.

As for the rubber band snapping, you're going to have to either get/make a torque meter or just learn to feel when it tightens. I can't really teach you how to do that in a YouTube comment, it's hard for me to explain. If you mean just tearing then soak them in Armor All and dry them off, that will make them last longer as well as not stick to themselves.

[MessiahsPassion]

Thanks. I checked the rules and it says 7 grams. -____-

[MessiahsPassion]

Great airplane. I built mine today, and it just wouldn't climb up. I'm probably using too much balsa on the main wing. The hard part about this years competition is that the plane must be at least 7 ounces. It stinks. I wanted a longer time range, but i'll have to go with a shorter one. Any advice on the rising up part?

[DoctorDraco]

You mean 7 grams. There is no way the minimum is 7 oz. That's almost 200 grams. And it's always been like that... It's an easy fix - just add some clay on the boomstick under the wing until it's 7 grams.

And for rising up... Check your angle of attack.

[mapleck]

ok... i has a question,

I've recently built the plane and the plane glides forward and doesn't stay on air that much... do u have any tips on making the propeller roll longer and faster?

[DoctorDraco]

Wind it more and with a thicker rubber band.

But it's probably your pitch or how you built the plane.

[mapleck]

ehhh? it worked better with a tinner band =d

i just have to get it to fly long, and then i have to build a new plane :D

[DoctorDraco]

Then just wind it more, that will keep the prop running longer. If that doesn't help then you have to make other adjustments to the wings, etc.

[mapleck]

hmm, it said that u have to wind it up for 600 times o.o

is this true?

[DoctorDraco]

I've put up to 4500 winds, depending on the rubber band.

[mapleck]

HOLY!@#!@#

ok ill try winding it that much, the thicker is better than the tinner one rite?

[DoctorDraco]

Not necessarily. It depends on your plane. Some of the ones I've made worked better with thicker and some with thinner.

[mapleck]

ahh, ok ill ask u for help after i get some better rubber bands :d

[14MorrisonB]

That may seem unbelievable, but actually that is how many times he rubber band is wound. The ratio on 1 turn on the winder often spins the rubber band many more times. In my case, one spin for the winder is 15 spins for the rubber band.

[darklinkchidori]

it was taht long on only rubber bands!? i'm getting my stuff ready for it this year, and it says i can use a motor stick (which i think means a motor). could you help me out on this. maybe some designs and such.

[DoctorDraco]

The motor stick is the piece of wood that holds everything (wings, prop, tailboom, etc.) together. It is NOT a mechanical motor, if that's what you're saying.

For beginners, I recommend looking up and purchasing a kit from either Ray Harlan or Dave Ziegler, as they have kits with easy, detailed instructions. They're the best place to start. Once you have built a few you'll get the hang of it and be able to create your own or make some significant modifications to theirs.

[darklinkchidori]

but your propeller wasn't going the entire time? did it just glide around once it ran out of energy? (thanks so much, by the way)

[DoctorDraco]

Yes, it was going the entire time. If it stopped the plane would have started to glide in a strait line, not ccw. Generally you do want to get close to running out of rubber band winds, because that would indicate that it flew all it could (assuming you didn't hit the ceiling). With that said it does not mean that you should put minimum winds on it - you need the most you can get.

[darklinkchidori]

is there some way to make the motor not go so fast? i've gotten some of the cheap motors, but they seem to use all the energy pretty fast-in about 5 seconds. I got some balsa for the plane, so all i have to worry about now is the propeller. =^(

[DoctorDraco]

That's probably a rubber band problem. Try using a thinner one.

How many winds are you doing?

[darklinkchidori]

A thinner one, ok. I was winding it till it was close to breaking. like 7 seconds max.

[DoctorDraco]

Then it's time to start adjusting wing location, pitch, etc.

[instantwonton]

i'm competing this year.

dont know what yet, but hopefully write it do it

[tranman978]

nice song lol

[kylecarney]

hahahaha. you are exactly right. that morning i could only get like 2 minutes, but i wasnt using o-rings or any lube. i trimmed for about an hour and a half, and i just got it perfect, then i torqued it too high and end up hitting the rafters, knocking my freakin stab off my plane. leaving me 15 minutes to re-trim the whole dang thing.

[kylecarney]

congrats draco! i finished 4th :) got .8 secs under 3 minutes. not bad for a 23 foot gym. mine was the weird droop boom plane.

in a couple of days i should have my video of nats up.

[DoctorDraco]

Ah, I remember you while we were trimming in the early AM. You were in the maroon shirt, no? Also, did your plane fall apart in mid-flight at one moment? I thought I saw it do that... (Though I'm probably wrong, since so many planes were getting stuck on the ceiling, among other things! :P )

[DoctorDraco]

Congrats to you too, BTW.

[DoctorDraco]

Well, it was a good end to Wright Stuff for me - I placed 13th at nats!

[Freddythethird]

where are these competitions held?

[DoctorDraco]

2008 KY State 2nd place plane flight up (see my video response).

Unfortunately we did not film my partner and I getting first. :-(

[BMWxM3xDrift]

I'm from the Lisle, IL S.O. team over here. Unfortuanately, wright stuff isn't a division B event, but it will be again nerxt year. Balloon Launch Glider is my speciallty. Placed frist in Division A at State finals and 2nd place overall for division B. flights of 2:20, 2:40, and 1:30 (ran outta time on last flight =[ ) The event was in the Armory at U of I in Champaigne, and lemme tell ya... ITS HUGE!!!!! GL for those of you goning to nationals in D.C.!!! My team placed 2nd in our division...

[GiantWaffle]

haha, nice flight. But for reginals your team got 1.57 seconds and we placed 6th. But in states we had 28 seconds but it ran into some kid and he tried to throw it back which broke it, so we couldn't do a seconds try.

[soccerdude2295]

I'm going to Science Olympiad with my team this Saturday. I'm participating in Metric Mastery and Write It, Do It.

[kriyong]

i make 1,,but fly only 15 second..T_T.. icant make it fly with 1 rubber band,,i have to use 2..can u give me some tips??..i really appreciate for that..

[DoctorDraco]

Best place to start is with a Harlan kit then build from there...

This year at regionals we swept 1st - 4th, with 2:29, 2:09, 1:55, 0:45. (Our 4th place team did something stupid and it crashed into the wall twice. Our 3rd place did something like that too.)

[kylecarney]

if you are using two rubber bands either your plane is freakishly heavy or your rubber size is very very very small. how heavy is your plane? and what size rubber bands are you using?

[kylecarney]

nice flight. i had a SO competition just a few days ago...got 4th place with 1 min 52 seconds.. competition is really gettin rough these days.

[szfpso1]

We have balloon launch Glider nowadays...

[DoctorDraco]

Yeah, Middle school... HS still does rubber band-powered planes. But this is the last year before they cycle it out for a while. :'(

[szfpso1]

But the Division B gets it.

[totleguy]

haha I remember wright stuff. We actually did a biplane. It was awesome :-)

[konryu123]

thats illegal now its mono planes only

[smartblondie12]

ours was big and it wasn't very well made...that wasn't my competiton however. I had Science Crime Busters (this was held at MTSU in Tennessee)

[eternalsunset7]

lol at princeton i got first in that event. first medal out school ever got in that event. its really funn =]

[shelbykproductions]

wow mine only made it like 0 seconds :D

[OnlySanePerson]

What is used for covering the wings?

[DoctorDraco]

Mylar.

[skiboarder213]

nice, kinda miss doin this. I used to do it in 7th and 8th grade back in middle school science olympiad

our best plane got around 5 and half minutes at the Illinois state competition. we averaged around 3 minutes on other flights in smaller gyms

[jlberglu3369]

yeah....i was in science olympiad, in "the wright stuff", and probably the only group to actually "make" a plane. the top 3 winners had the exact same planes (there is a kit for the winning model) and it just came down to luck. that doesn't strike me as....competing

[skiboarder213]

nah, theres a ton that goes into winning. yea most planes do look alike and have similar plans. But there is so much that goes into the rubber and lubrication you use, and the angle of the wings, and the diameter of the circle, and the number of winds you put into the rubber.

thats what got my team a 5:36 minute flight and everyone else with VERY similar plans around 3 minutes

[zildjian1992]

Do by any chance have plans for the plane? If you do could you possibly email them? thanks

[rthorbur]

Very well done. Great design.

[majikrebel]

how did you guys get that plane i saw one just like it at my competition

where can i get one

[DoctorDraco]

Do a google of either Ray Harlan or Dave Ziggler and they have some good plane kits to start off with.

[THU228]

Maybe squatting allows you to get more turns in the rubber band without hitting the ceiling. anywho, I go to Hoover High in Alabama and I've won first at regionals for two years in a row, but my team didn't go to state because we didn't have enough people to cover all the events. I hope i can win this year and next as well.

[chewbacca0901]

Sorry you couldn't join us. JCIB won 1st place in this, and overall at the regionals today. Ours only stayed up 1:50, but we were contending with the rafters and the heater vents!

[DoctorDraco]

We got around 1:50 so far this year, VERY crummy. We were getting around 2:45, but it's the first time my partner did this event and I had 2 events at the same time, so I couldn't help. First flight was the 1:50, the second she did something bone-headed and hit a rafter and snapped. :( Ahh well we're making a few more and testing more for state. Good luck to all!

[THU228]

Hey why do you squat down when you fly it? Wouldnt it be better to stand up? I think you should make the radius of flight larger to reduce drag and increase flight time. But thats a really nice flight for a single wing plane.

[DoctorDraco]

He squatted down because the plane rose pretty quickly and would hit the ceiling. Sitting down reduced that.

Thanks for the recommendation, but I think that plane won't fly anymore... prolly is warped from being in the heat of my house during the summer.

[inwsa]

Wow, that was a good flight -- what team are you on?

[DoctorDraco]

That was an old flight, and not our best, just happened to have the camera :P That was a middle school plane though. I'm on a KY team...