Scouts and Explorers: Fantastic elastic flying machines
Stretch yourself and spring into action as you build and fly a rubber band-powered model aircraft.
You will need
- Drawing pins
- Craft materials (for example, tissue paper, pipe cleaners,
stickers)
- A4 paper
- Scissors
- Sticky tape
- Rulers
- Elastic bands
- Pens or pencils
- Coloured pens or pencils
- PVA glue
- Paper clips
- Pliers
- Cotton bud
- Plastic drinking straws
- PET plastic (for example, a two litre drinks bottle or disposable
cup)
You will also need to print copies of
the ‘Propeller pattern’ sheet. This one has been created by Science Toy Maker and
inspired the activity below.
Instructions:
how to make the model
1.
Cut the top and bottom from a PET
plastic cup or bottle then cut down one side of the cylinder. Unroll the
plastic and lay it flat.
2.
Draw the outlines of two propellers
with rounded edges using a felt pen. You both need to be about two centimetres
wide and nine centimetres long. Cut out the plastic propellers.
3.
Take a cotton bud. Remove the cotton
swabs from the ends, so that you’re just left with the stick. Cut a section
about one and a half centimetres long from one end and put it to one side for
now.
4.
Mark the centre point on the longer
piece of plastic stick. Use glue to attach the propeller blades to either end
of the stick, leaving a small space in the middle. Attach one of the blades
tilted at a 45 degree angle and the other straight.
5.
Take the hollow one and a half
centimetre piece of stick from step three and glue it to the centre point, in
the small space between the propellers, to make a T-shape.
6.
Take a paperclip and pliers.
Carefully bend the clip into a hook to hold rubber bands.
7.
Take some A4 paper to make your
wings. Fold it in half lengthways. Unfold it and use the ruler to mark the
middle of the page.
8.
Take a straw and use the ruler to
mark the middle. Use tape to attach it to the paper so that the two marks line
up, with the straw running parallel two to three centimetres from the fold line
on either side of the page.
9.
Add some glue along the top of the
taped-down straw. Re-fold the paper and stick the other side down on top of the
straw. Glue or tape the corners and edges of the sheet together to complete
your wing.
10. Take
four more straws to make the main body of the plane, the fuselage. Insert the
ends of two of the straws into the other two, to make two double-length straws.
11. Take
a fifth straw and cut two centimetre pieces from it. Dab some glue on the sides
of each piece and use them to connect your two doubly-long straws together at your
ends.
12. Take
some leftover PET plastic, and push a drawing pin through it. Cut a one
centimetre square out with the drawing pin hole in its centre. Glue this to one
end of the fuselage, without blocking the hole.
13. Take
the paperclip hook and push the straight end out through the front of the
plastic square. The hook should now be between the two long straws. Take the
straight end and rotate it clockwise and anti-clockwise to see that it turns
easily, without the hook catching on the straws.
Adjust
the width of the hook if necessary, to make it fit.
9.
Dab some glue on the straight end of
the paperclip, and slot the one and a half centimetre piece of hollow plastic
stick at the centre of the propeller over it. Make sure this is securely glued
in place.
10. Tie
three rubber bands together. Check the length of your bands pulled taut against
that of your fuselage. If you match, attach one end of the band to the
propeller hook and squeeze the other end through the small connecting piece of
straw at the back of the fuselage. Pull through the end of the taut band and
place a small piece of paperclip or similar through the loop to hold it there.
You should further secure this with glue or sticky tape.
Keep
the tension in the rubber bands as you do this. At the same time, don’t pull
them so tight that you bend the fuselage out of shape. If your bands are too
short or too long, you may need to use a different number.
11. Mark
the centre point on the wings you made earlier. Line up the centre precisely
with the fuselage and glue the wings to it. Try to fit them about 12
centimetres from the propeller, for the best balance.
12. Take
another sheet of A4 paper and fold it in half lengthways to make a tail wing.
Cut a rectangle of about 16 by 8 centimetres from the folded side of the paper.
Mark the centre of this and fold the short edges to meet in the middle.
13. Glue
the tail wing to the back end of the fuselage to complete the build.
- Once you have your finished model you should
decorate and personalise it.
- Tidy up and recycle any leftover materials. If
you used PVA glue, you should put the model to one side and only move on
once the glue is dry.
- Have a test flight of your model – you’ll need
a large indoor or outdoor space. You should wind up the tension in the
propeller and throw the model into the air.
- As the models soar through the sky, look for
any design flaws. Do you need to change the position of the main wing to
improve balance? How many times did you rotate the propellor? Could you
tweak the shape or size of the tail wing?
- Once you’ve made any adjustments you should
try to let your aircraft fly again. You should try to time how long your
aircraft stays in the air and how far it travels so you can compare
results with your friends.
Reflection
This activity involved making lots of
components from plastic. This included straws, plastic cups and plastic
bottles. What other repurposed materials or other alternatives could be used to
replace each component? Can you think of viable alternatives, with the same or
similar properties, to all the plastic parts? What else might you need to
change if you’re using denser or weaker materials instead? Can anyone come up
with a design that’s entirely eco-friendly?
Like plastic, air travel has a bad reputation, as it’s a key contributor to our carbon footprint. Burning jet fuel for thrust creates carbon dioxide, which when released into the atmosphere can increase global warming. What are some other ways we could travel that have less carbon output? If flying’s unavoidable, how could you make up for the carbon emissions from the flight? A clue: some organisms like to eat carbon dioxide!
This
activity completes:
Air
Activities Badge stage 6 – requirement 1
Scouts
Model Maker Activity Badge – option 2
Safety
Glue and solvents
Supervise young people appropriately when you’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions which could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.
Scissors
Supervise young people appropriately when you’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people
Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.