10C10.15 - Wright Flyer and Gliders

Code Number:
10C10.15
Demo Title:
Wright Flyer and Gliders
Condition:
Excellent
Principle:
Principles of Flight
Area of Study:
Heat & Fluids
Equipment:
Wright Flyer Model.
Procedure:

Show and fly the model of the Wright flyer.

References:
  • Brian R. Page, "What Physics Students Can Learn From the Wright Brothers", TPT, Vol. 59, #5, May 2021, p. 340.
  • Richard M. Heavers and Arianne Soleymanloo, "Measuring Lift with the Wright Airfoils", TPT, Vol. 49, #8, Nov. 2011, p. 502.
  • Robert H. Johns, "Scaling and Paper Airplanes", TPT, Vol. 9, #9, Dec. 1971, p. 541, also A Potpourri of Physics Teaching Ideas - Odds and Ends, p. 294.
  • Chris Waltham, "The Flight of a Balsa Glider", AJP, Vol. 67, #7, July 1999, p. 620. 
  • Matt Goulet, "The Original Airmen", Popular Mechanics, Vol. 192, #7, July/Aug. 2015, p. 24.
  • Jeremy Hsu, "A Solar-Powered Drone Designed To Fly For Five Years Nonstop", Popular Science, Vol. 286, #3, Mar. 2014, p. 36.
  • "Paper Glider That Loops The Loop", The Boy Mechanic, ISBN 978-1-58816-509-1, p. 243 - 244.
  • "Toy Paper Glider Carefully Designed", The Boy Mechanic, ISBN 978-1-58816-509-1, p. 241 - 242.
  • "Flyboys - A Model Paper Monoplane That Can Be Steered", The Boy Mechanic, ISBN 978-1-58816-509-1, p. 239 - 240.
  • "How to Make a Model Old-Four Monoplane", The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys, p. 177 - 182.
  • "A Feather Airplane Dart", The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys, p. 176.
  • "A Toy Water Plane", The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys, p. 175.
  • "Incredible Flying Machines - How to Build Model Airplanes", The Boy Mechanic Makes Toys, p. 169 - 175.
  • Rick Beyer, "Flight Before Wright", The Greatest Science Stories Never Told, p. 12.
  • Ed Sobey and Woody Sobey, "Balsa Wood Plane", The Way Toys Work, p. 11 - 14.
  • "Iowans Take Flight - 100 Years of Aviation", The Des Moines Register, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2003, p. 6A - 7A.
  • "Descendants of Those Who Watched First Flight Gather", Iowa City Press-Citizen, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2003, p. 12A.
  • "Wrights Flew Largely Under the Radar", Iowa City Press-Citizen, Monday, Dec. 15, 2003, p. 10A.
  • Cy Tymoney, "Sneaky Gliders", Sneakiest Uses for Everyday Things, p. 34 - 35.
  • Guinness World Records, "First Power-Driven Flight", 2003, p. 120.

Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist.  The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose.  The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources.  Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks.  These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage.  Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.