Walkalong Gliders

Рет қаралды 109,419

Күн бұрын

This is text to explain the video. I cannot fit it all here. The full text is here. goo.gl/PGFdAn
But first, the beautiful music-"Willow Girl", "The Field in the Forest" & "The Windy Hemlock"--is by the trio Crowfoot.
www.crowfootmus...
They are playing at the Institute of Musical Traditions
• "Willow Girl", "The Fi...
www.imtfolk.org...
Much more information about Walkalong Gliders/Air-Surfing and links at goo.gl/JUHoUS
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Twitter / sciencetoymaker
Google+ goo.gl/igYDtw
I did not invent walkalong gliding (AKA air-surfing)- the activity of mysteriously levitating gliders with deflected relative wind. The concept has been around for a generation,
goo.gl/ZXpjPL
yet it remains almost unknown. There is a reason for that. Although walkalong gliders are not difficult to make and fly, getting people through the FIRST STEP has been difficult.
My obsession for the last 5 years has been to get my students' heads into the sky with their feet on the ground--flying as a hands-on science activity. We started with paper gliders but switched to very thin foam, recycled from packaging, which has superior strength to weight ratios. Then we found foam that was even lighter. Finally, we have gliders so efficient and slow-flying that people can be flying within minutes. Almost all the people in the video had not known how to fly 5 minutes earlier.
The best way to start is to buy a box of foam that also has a couple of ready-to-fly gliders. It's not only that you can start flying very quickly; knowing how the gliders are made and flown then makes it easier to make your own. The proceeds from the sales go to a nonprofit Physics Factory goo.gl/PpjT9x
1.) The numbers correspond to the numbers at the top of the screen in the video.
2.) The easiest way to start out is buy a box of foam which includes some ready-to-fly gliders. Open carefully and save the box for protective storage and transport.
3.) This is special very low-density foam which is unbelievably lightweight. It is recycled, originally used to cushion imported furniture. We hotwire cut it on a homemade robotic CNC machine to perfect half millimeter slices. It is also very delicate to handle. You can wreck it without trying.
4.) Although the gliders have been tested and are ready-to-fly, we have to bend the front wire weight flat for shipping. Just bend it 90 degrees, but be very gentle as you handle the glider. If you don't bend it forward, the glider will probably stall rather than fly forward. If the glider still seems to stall too much, you can bend it forward even more. This shifts the "center of gravity" (balance point) forward in the glider. Opposite, if the glider dives, then you can remedy diving by bending the wire backward, which shifts the center of gravity backward.
5.) For launching, make sure that you are holding the glider right side up: the wire bends down. There is a little downward bend at the front of the wing. This front wing bend is called camber and it creates an airfoil shape for more efficient flying. At the back of the wing are 2 flaps that bend 45 degrees up, called elevons. They keep the glider from diving.
You hold the glider gently from the back. Notice that there is a thumb and finger below, and just one finger above the glider. This keeps the glider wings slanting up just a little. This upward slant of the wings is called "dihedral", which all airplanes have for better stability.
Caution: some people unconsciously hold the glider in a way that makes the wings droop down (anhedral). If the glider wings do not spring back to dihedral, then the glider will not fly.
THIS IS ALL I CAN FIT IN THE KZbin DESCRIPTION BOX. THE FULL TEXT IS HERE
goo.gl/PGFdAn

Пікірлер: 28

@jonault199 10 жыл бұрын

so much crap on the net then you find something magic !

@MyDadsMusic1 10 жыл бұрын

Great little toy, and a real nice feel to the video, nice folks, music.... Thanks!

@sunbee4875 9 жыл бұрын

Hello..I'm 15 years old boy and I'm from South Korea. I made your mosquito walkalong gilder with the same materials, but it doesn't fly well. So I added some weight at the front of the glider, and it flies for 3 secs w/o board. And same result w/ board. Plz help Me!!

@sciencetoymaker 9 жыл бұрын

김윤하 When you say that you made it from the "same materials", what does that mean? 1/2 mm eps foam is not easy to cut, but I do not know of a good substitute. For a few dollars you can get an envelope with almost ready-to-fly gliders, to get started.www.sciencetoymaker.org/airsurf/store.html#TryFlying If you send a video of how it glides, I might be able to see what is happening. I need more specific information than it flies for 3 seconds. Does it stall? Dive? Turn?

@sunbee4875 9 жыл бұрын

sciencetoymaker Umm... I used the same 0.6mm slim foam (which is made of styrofoam that my teacher gave it to me) and same glider patten :( My glider falls down too fast. +Thanks for your fast reply

@sciencetoymaker 9 жыл бұрын

김윤하 If it falls too fast, that is called diving. Two things cause diving: 1) too much weight in front, or 2) not enough bend up in back. Try cutting off some front weight. Check the back folds. They should be bent up, between 30 and 45 degrees. If that does not work, then a close picture of the glider would be helpful. I will need to see the weight and the angles. You can send it to science "@" sciencetoymaker.org. Replace the " and the spaces. This is to foil spambots. Has anyone at your school gotten the gliders to fly?

@sunbee4875 9 жыл бұрын

sciencetoymaker Thanks for your reply again :) I got a new foam. Now I'm going to make this glider again. I think my gilder has too much weight in front :( + However, when I cut off some weight in front, it's too light that it goes any directions I'm gonna fix it right now. Thanks for your advice. Most of my friends' gliders fly same as mine. I think my foam is different foam as yours. Thursday (in Korea GMT+9) is deadline, so I'm going to finish my glider. Thanks for your help! +one more question: I don't have slim wires as yours. Can I use 'Front Weight' in the pattern? And 'Front Weight' is made up of an copied A4-sized paper? +++++ I made one as same as yours, but it flips&goes any directions again :( Is it too light to glide?

@sciencetoymaker 9 жыл бұрын

김윤하 Yes, at first it is challenging to find the balance between too much weight and not enough.