by Bart King
mountain: paper’s fold looks like a mountain, an upside-down V.
air-to-ground rocket: device installed on paper airplanes to eliminate targets, like the annoying neighborhood kid or the barking poodle next door.
elevator: adjustments that can be made on the back of the plane that adjust its flight. If the elevators are up, the plane’s nose will come up. Generally, I make my elevators about 1/4 inch deep and about an inch long.
Hangin’ with the Glider
You Need:
paper (duh!), standard 8-1/2- by 11-inch sheets
a pen or pencil for marking
a ruler (good for folding and measuring)
transparent tape
With just a few folds, this may be the fastest plane you can make!
1. Fold the paper in half the long way, open it, and fold the top two corners in so that the edges are right on the center fold.
2. Take the top peak of the triangle that is formed and fold it down to the middle crease. (How far you fold is up to you; I stop at about 1-1/4 inches from the bottom of the paper.)
3. Now fold the top left and right corners down to the middle crease again just like you did in Step 1. Leave a tiny bit of room between them. (A small triangle will be sticking below this.)
4. Fold everything down that center crease to make a mountain. (This will make your triangle rise up and fold in half.)
5. You’re almost done. Turn your paper so that the pointy end is in your palm. Fold the wings on each side by folding from the point to the end and making the top align with the bottom.
6. Once you get that fold, open up the wings so they are flat and even. Give it a slow, steady throw. I like to tape the middle of the body together to keep it tight.
Bull’s-Eye: The Dart
Every boy needs to memorize this design. It is the best version of the most classic paper airplane ever!
1. Fold the paper in half the long way.
2. With the paper like a valley, fold the top corners in so that they align with the middle crease.
3. Optional: Now that you have found your top, go to the bottom of the paper. Make a mark from the edge at 1/2 and 1-1/2 inches from the left and right sides.
4. With those corners folded down, find your new top corners. Fold these down to meet the center crease also.
5. The only bad thing about the dart is, it has a sharp nose that gets crumpled fast. To avoid that problem, fold 1 inch of the nose over.
6. Now turn the paper over. Take the outside edges and fold them into the center.
7. Turn it over again. Fold it right down the center again in the reverse direction (the opposite way of the first fold.)
8. Grab the middle and open the wings. Align the wings so they are at a 90-degree angle from the plane’s body. Tighten up the body and put a small piece of tape about 2-1/2 inches in from the nose to keep the wings together. Put another small piece of tape where the wings meet the body to keep it aerodynamic.
Depending on your paper, this design may be too nose-heavy. If your plane goes into dives, look at the marks you made in Step 3. With scissors, make a 1/4-inch cut in from those four marks. Fold the paper up to make a flap. These will be the “elevators.” These movable flaps will bring any plane’s nose up if they are up. (If you’ve ever sat by the wing in an airplane, now you know what those flaps do.) Now throw the plane again. Awesome! Experiment with different flap settings to make your plane turn and fly differently. The same applies to all other planes.
The Tank
Also known as the Tractor, this is a durable design that can handle a lot of crashing!
1. Take your top left edge and fold it back to the right side.
2. Do the same thing with the other side.
3. Now fold the paper in half.
4. Unfold it, and fold the nose of the paper almost back to the bottom of the folds you have made. (You can fold more or less back depending on whether you want the nose heavier or lighter.)
5. Take that fold in the half you made and fold it the other way. You are going to make a keel, which will make a W shape when you look at the plane from the front. I make my keel on this model about 7/8 of an inch. Once you get the fold right, you might want to slightly tape the front and back to keep it together.
6. Fold the wings out.
7. Turn the edges of the wings up. (I usually fold about 1/2 inch.)
8. Make any other tape adjustments needed to keep that keel together, then try a throw. You may want to add elevators and rudders to the wings to get the flight path you want.
The Ring of Power!
It’s not an airplane. It IS a flying circle!
1. You need a square of paper for starters.
2. Fold it in half diagonally.
3. Fold a little bit of the folded edge over.
4. Now fold that strip again.
5. Curve the two ends of the folded strip toward each other. Don’t fold anything as you go! Now fit or tuck the ends as far as you can into each other. Get it snug.
6. To throw the Ring of Power, pinch the tail end between your thumb and forefinger. Then hold it up toward your head and push it away from you. A little experimentation will show you the best way to do this.
Don’t touch if you don’t know what it does!
In March 1994, an Aeroflot flight with 75 passengers was flying from Moscow to Hong Kong. At more than 30,000 feet, the captain allowed his 11-year old daughter and 15-year-old son to sit in the pilot’s seat. While there, the pilot’s son apparently asked, “May I turn this?” The boy turned the plane’s main control, disconnecting its autopilot. Nobody noticed this at first, but the plane then went into a spin and crashed with no survivors.
The Plane of a Thousand Flights
This is a good design for stunts, but it can fly straight ahead as well!
1. Fold the paper in half the long way. With a ruler, find and mark the center point of that fold.
2. Make a horizontal fold across the bottom, bringing the bottom middle up to your mark.
3. Fold in each corner perfectly.
4. Then fold each side of the paper up to make a V shape.
5. Fold the whole thing in half. Now fold the wings just like you did for the glider: fold the wings on each side by folding from the point to the end and making the top align with the bottom.
6. Unfold the wings so they are flat.
This plane really flies differently with different modifications. If you tape the body tight on top and give it elevators folded up, it will fly well straight ahead. If you curl the back outside edges of the wings and throw the plane somewhat upwards, it can boomerang. If you hold the wings away from you and throw it with the nose straight up, it can loop de loop. Experiment away!
Helicopters
The rotors on a helicopter are basically spinning wings. By spinning, they create lift for the machine, and if you tilt the spinning mechanism slightly, the helicopter can move in any direction. More importantly, a helicopter can hover!
Quick Copter
If you have some paper, two straws, and some Playdoh or clay, you can crank out a copter!
You Need:
some paper
2 straws
Scotch tape
some Playdoh or clay
1. Cut 2 pieces of paper that are 2-1/2 inches across and 4 inches long.
2. Tape one straw to the other to form a T shape. Put a little lump of clay at the bottom of the T.
3. Gently fold the pieces of paper over the ends of the “arms” of the straw T. Tape the other side of the paper to hold it together, and put a little tape between the paper and straw to keep it in place. Look at the diagram for how to do this properly.
4. Holding the vertical straw, slide or brush your hands together to create lift. The Quick Copter will rise up and away!
No-Rotor Helicoptering Hovercraft
What makes helicopters unique is their ability to hover. Here’s a futuristic design that eliminates the rotors!
Y
ou Need:
glue
an empty thread spool
a CD you don’t want anymore
a button
balloon
1. Glue the spool to the old CD so that the holes in the middle line up.
2. Let it dry and then glue the button to the top of that. (The holes should still line up!)
3. Now blow up the balloon and stretch its mouth over the top of the spool/button. (Don’t let the air escape while you do this.)
4. Set the contraption on a smooth surface and let go of the balloon. The device will float along and hover over the table as it scoots!
Rockets
Many people will describe someone who is smart as a rocket scientist. This is weird, because a rocket is the simplest kind of engine there is. A car engine is much more complicated. From now on, if you want to say someone is smart, say that they are a real auto mechanic. It makes more sense!
You can become a rocket scientist pretty easily. First, let’s look at how a basic rocket works. Rockets are powered with some kind of force that propels them upward. This force may be a liquid fuel that burns and turns into a gas, like kerosene. Some rockets use a solid fuel instead, like many fireworks do. Rockets can even use only air or water for their propellant! (For detailed plans on how to make impressive air and water rockets, see the book Backyard Ballistics by William Gurstelle.)
*Gravity stunts your growth! Rocket-riding astronauts grow from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches while in outer space. Without gravity pulling them down, they get taller! (Hey, what do you have if you tangle your shoelaces in outer space? Astro-knots! Okay, sorry.)
Rocket Basics:
Have parent supervision for any rocket experiment.
Launch your rocket in an open area away from as many roads, trees, and roofs as possible. (You should also take the wind into account.)
Wear protective eyewear in case of a blowup on the launchpad.
Follow directions, and don’t change or skip steps!
Finally, use your common sense! For example, don’t ever put something (like your face) over the rocket once it is staged for a liftoff.
Model Rockets
Model rockets are also sometimes called “solid fuel rockets.” Solid fuel rockets have a charge (or “grain”) that burns smoothly once it’s ignited. These rockets come in kits (found in any hobby shop or toy store) that supply the motor and the rocket. You can usually use the rocket again, but you have to buy more motors sooner or later. Although they can be expensive, model rockets are a blast.
Okay, it’s not a model rocket, but here are the plans for making the world’s cheapest and easiest solid fuel rocket.
Match Rocket
It was a great day when I found that with 2 matches, I could make a rocket that really zips! Some people say their match rockets have gone 50 feet!
You Need:
foil
a couple of cardboard matches
2 needles (pins will work if you don’t
have needles)
some transparent tape
Do this outside with adult supervision in a place where a fire can’t start. Problems? E-mail me at [email protected]
1. Cut a piece of foil 1-inch square.
2. Tear out a match. (Wooden matches won’t work for this.) Make a straight cut at its end where it was connected to the matchbook.
3. Lay the match half on and half off the foil, with its head about in the middle of the foil.
4. Put the needles on each side of the match, with the sharp ends near the match head.
5. Leaving a “pointy head” on the assembly, carefully crush and shape the foil around the match and pins. Do a good job wrapping the needles. Finally, wrap some tape around the foil to prevent blowouts.
6. Take the needles out, leaving 2 small holes on each side of the match. (Be careful not to crush these holes shut, or it won’t work.)
7. If you have a launcher that you want to use, put the rocket in it, with the holes facing down. (I use a hollowed-out pen, but any piece of hard plastic or metal tubing will do. Keep one end of your launcher blocked off.) You can also just set the rocket on an incline with the head protruding and it might take off.
8. Stand to the side of the rocket, and hold a flame on the foil. A lighter actually works better than a match for this. Try to move the flame around a bit so you don’t burn a hole in the foil; you just want to heat up the assembly enough to ignite the match head! (If you do have a blowout, try wrapping the match with one more layer of foil.)
9. Watch your Match Rocket fly away!
Air (“Pneumatic”) Rockets
Just like a blowgun shooter uses a puff of air to shoot his dart, air rockets rely on a fast jet of air to get liftoff. This kind of force is called a “pneumatic” (new-MAT-ic) force.
Chapstick® Lip Balm Rocket
Here is how to make the world’s simplest air rocket: The Lip Balm Rocket, made by using a Chapstick® brand lip balm tube! When your chapped lips have used up all the balm in the container, follow these steps for a hand rocket that can be fired at will!
You Need:
an empty lip balm container
1. Remove the cap of the container. Save it.
2. Remove the end of the container by using a penny to pop the turning device off the bottom of the tube, which includes the plastic threaded dowel. (This has to be pulled out of the part that contains the balm.) Save it.
3. Remove the cup that holds the balm. Dig out any balm still in there.
4. Reverse the cup so that the hollowed portion faces the bottom of the tube
and stick it back where it came from. Push it all the way down to the base of the balm tube.
5. Take the threaded plastic dowel and screw it back into the hole in the plastic cup. Leave it hanging out like a plunger. This is your firing mechanism.
6. Put the cap of the container back on.
7. Hold the tube firmly. Aim the cap at something. Pull your off hand back and strike the plunger mechanism sharply with your palm.
8. The cap flies off to parts unknown!
Water Rockets
Water rockets (also called “hydro-pump” rockets) are my favorite kind of missile. Pressurized water is their fuel, and when these rockets achieve liftoff, water goes flying all over.
You’re-Gonna-Get-Wet-Rocket
This is a good basic water rocket for someone who likes to work on a project!
You Need:
scissors
thin cardboard
duct tape
a plastic soda bottle
a couple of feet of plastic tube
(aquarium shops have this)
an air valve (the pointy thing you shove in a
ball when you blow it up with air)
an awl or ice pick to drill a hole through
the cork
a cork that will fit in the neck of the bottle
a bicycle pump
1. Cut out 3 or 4 fins from the cardboard in the general shape shown; make them between 7 and 9 inches long.
2. Duct tape the fins to the bottle (with the fins at even distances) so the bottle can stand up on its own.
3. Take your tube and fit the air valve into one end of it. Have the fat end stuck in the tube and the pointy end sticking out. Now drill a hole through the cork that is just big enough to fit this end of the plastic tubing. Push the valve and tube through the cork so that the valve’s pointy end comes out the end of the cork.
4. Turn over the bottle with fins taped to it and fill it about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way with water.
5. Now shove the cork into the bottle’s opening! Get it in there good and tight, but not crazy tight. (It does need to be tight enough to keep water from coming out when you turn this upside down.)
6. Take the open end of your plastic tube and shove it into the tube from your bicycle pump. (If it isn’t a tight fit, shove it in pretty far and duct tape the whole thing tightly.)
7. I sort of figured you were already outside, but
if you weren’t, take all your parts outside! Find a flat launch site away from anything that you might lose your rocket on. Turn the bottle over. Start pumping! You will see the pressure building up inside the bottle. At some point, it will be great enough to kick the cork out from its end and take off! Save all your parts and try experiments with different levels of water in the rocket.
Follow-Up Activity
Get a sheet of paper that is 20 feet across. Using one of this chapter’s designs, make a giant paper plane. Get it on your home’s roof, climb on board, and have a friend give a shove. Remember to pack small bags of pretzels and peanuts for nutrition during the flight.
Fun in the Outdoors!
So you’re thinking about hiking and camping, huh? That’s a good call; you can roam around in the wilderness, have adventures, and sleep under the stars. (Sleeping under the stars is much more relaxing than sleeping on them.) There are plenty of books and manuals on camping, so this chapter is about the things we are most interested in.
The Campfire
Fire! Fire! Few things are as appealing about camping as the campfire. There is something about sitting around a warm, cheery fire, surrounded by the darkness and the woods, staring thoughtfully into the glowing coals and dreaming . . . Hey, my shoes are on fire!
