Design and Fly a Kite
Students learn how to use wind energy to combat gravity and create lift by creating their own tetrahedral kites capable of flying. They explore different tetrahedron kite designs, learning that the geometry of the tetrahedron shape lends itself well to kites and wings because of its advantageous strength-to-weight ratio. Then they design their own kites using drinking straws, string, lightweight paper/plastic and glue/tape. Student teams experience the full engineering design cycle as if they are aeronautical engineers—they determine the project constraints, research the problem, brainstorm ideas, select a promising design and build a prototype; then they test and redesign to achieve a successful flying kite. Pre/post quizzes and a worksheet are provided.
Students get a running start to launch their tetrahedron kite.Copyright 2015 Denise Jabusch, University of California Davis
Since the early days of flight, ideas for flying machines and their wing structures have been extensively tested. The aeronautical engineers of today continue to design new wing structures, now using computers and wind tunnels. To test early wing designs that used the tetrahedron shape, small and inexpensive kites were used. Alexander Graham Bell was one engineer and inventor who designed flying machines and found that generating lift was a problem. To increase lift, which often came at the expense of added weight or lack of structure, he experimented with the tetrahedrons to create structures that were both strong and lightweight. Use of the tetrahedral shape resulted in large kite structures of minimal weight with enough lift to achieve flight, even with passengers and eventually powered flying machines. Kites proved to be a great testing ground for the design and construction of Bell's tetrahedron-based flying machines. The tetrahedron also had the advantage of being a modular design; the tetrahedral "cell" shapes could be stacked and manipulated for more lift and repurposed into many different designs for flight. In this activity, students work as if they are aeronautical engineers, designing, and redesigning wing prototypes.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the concepts of lift and force.
- Explain and apply the steps of the engineering design process.