The theme for this school year’s upcoming interdisciplinary days is flight. Over the three days we dedicate to this theme, students will study multiple aspects of human flight and aeronautics. One facet of this study will include building, decorating, and flying rubber-band-powered model airplanes. The planes, called “Super Delta Darts,” are built using small strips of balsa wood covered with tissue paper and have a wingspan of approximately 20 inches. If carefully built and properly adjusted, the Super Delta Dart is capable of flight times in the neighborhood of 60 seconds. Last Thursday, a small group of teachers and students built prototypes of the planes as an after-school project. Prior to building 74 planes in one day, we wanted to discover (and work through) any challenges involved with this project! Three planes were successfully built–but limited indoor space made test flights a bit of a challenge. Thus, next up will be learning how to adjust the wings of the plane to maximize flight time.

Click on the picture above to view more photos of making the test planes.