Foam plate pilots

Before you begin

• People could work in pairs or on their own to make their glider – it depends on the resources you have and how people prefer to do activities.
• If you want to save paper, people can share templates – they’ll just have to be patient!
• The glider’s called an FPG-9 as it’s a ‘foam plate glider’ made from a paper plate that’s nine inches wide.

Craft a glider

1. Cut along the solid lines on the ‘FPG-9 template’ sheet so you have a glider shape. Don’t cut along the dotted lines.
2. Put the template on the paper plate and draw around it. The tail needs to be on the flat bottom of the plate, but it’s OK if the tab or edge of the wings are on the curved sides.
3. Mark the solid lines for the elevons, rudders, and slots.

4. Cut around the edge of the glider. This time, also cut along the dotted line to separate the tail from the wing.

5. Cut out the slots on the wing and the tail – try to make sure they’re no wider than the thickness of the plate so it’ll fit snugly together.

6. Cut along the solid lines to make the elevens and the rudder – the control surfaces. Label them with the marker pen.
7. Attach the tail to the wing by sliding the slots together. Use two small pieces of rape to secure the bottom of the tail to the wing.
8. Fold the tab at the front of the glider over a penny, then tape it down.

Fly the FPG-9

1. The person leading the game should explain that these models combine the ailerons and elevators to make ‘elevons’.

2. Everyone should find a clear, open space. They should take it in turns to hold their glider straight above their head and toss it gently in front of them, making sure it’s not aimed at anyone. They should notice how it flies.
3. Everyone should trim their glider so it flies in a straight path – they should make sure the three control services (rudder, left elevon, and right elevon) are neutral, in line with the wing and the tail.

4. As everyone trims their glider, the person leading the activity should explain that in a real aircraft, trimming is about adjusting the aerodynamic forces on control surfaces so the aircraft maintains its altitude without any control input – pilots do this with controls in the cockpit.

5. Everyone should repeat step two to see how their trimmed glider flies.
6. Everyone should try to move the penny to see how it changes the balance and flight of their glider. The penny represents all of the ways a pilot can shift weight on a real aircraft.
7. As they trim their glider, the person leading the activity should explain that pilots can also trim aircraft by shifting their centre of gravity. This might mean moving fuel from centre to tail tanks, moving the position of cargo, or changing the thrust of an engine depending on whether it’s above or below the aircraft’s centre of gravity.
8. Everyone should repeat step two to see how their trimmed glider flies.
9. Everyone should continue to trim and trial their gliders. Can they adjust the elevens, rudder, and penny to get their glider to pitch up and down, roll right and left, yaw right and left, and even perform a loop?
10. Once everyone’s had enough time, the person leading the activity should explain that aircraft can also have secondary control surfaces including flaps, slots, and slats.

11. Everyone should sketch some flaps on the wings of their glider. They should be on the trailing edge, closer to the tail. They move together on both wings, in a similar way to the down ailerons.

12. Everyone should sketch some slots or slats on their wings too.

13. Everyone should gather in small groups and chat about what they’ve learned. They should think about the control services on their gliders, how they moved, and how the movements affected the flight of the glider. Could they make their fly in a predictable path? What about the secondary control surfaces (flaps, slots, and slats)?

14. The person leading the activity should make sure everyone understands that air interacted with the control surfaces as it passed over them, and that these interactions changed the motion of the model. Moving the control surfaces into the airflow changed the motion of the aircraft in predictable ways – pilots can control how aircraft move because they understand how the control surfaces change the motion of the aircraft.

Find some examples

1. In their small groups, everyone should spend some time researched different aircraft. They should try to find real examples of the primary and secondary control surfaces their model used.
2. Everyone should choose an aircraft and sketch an outline or silhouette on some scrap paper. They should label as many control surfaces as they can: ailerons, elevators, rudders, flaps, slots, or slats.
3. Everyone should take it in turns to share their drawings. Did anyone find an aircraft with all of the control surfaces? Did anyone find a unique aircraft no one else had chosen? Were control services positioned differently on different aircraft?