The great news is that many of the problematic airplane troubles were figured out a long time ago by two amazing people: the Wright brothers.
The Wright brothers also took an airfoil (a fancy word for “airplane wing”), turned it sideways, and rotated it around quickly to produce the first real propeller that could generate an efficient amount of thrust to fly an aircraft.
Before the Wright brothers perfected the airfoil, people had been using the same “screw” design created by Archimedes in 250 BC. This twist in the propeller was such a superior design that modern propellers are only 5% more efficient than those created a hundred years ago by the two brilliant Wright brothers.
We’re going to use a propeller on our basic race car chassis (frame) to see how much thrust we’d need to make it move. If you don’t want to make the fancy triangle-shaped body frame, you can substitute a foam block or two (which will make your car able to go in water, too!)
Are you ready?
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This is most likely a problem with the wheels. It is best to use small plastic caps. The plastic caps from milk or film canisters are a good size, and the hole in the plastic won’t dig into the wood axle.
Lids for jars are usually too big. Also, even if you punch a hole in the metal lid, the jagged edges of the hole can dig into the wood axle, which prevents the wheel from spinning.
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My car isn’t moving.What have I done wrong? I have not put the batteries on it.I have taped those and a switch to a sheet of cardboard. [The wheel problem? Spaghetti jar lids! Mom punched holes for me.]
The video is not sounding. I checked to make sure that it wasn’t muted. What is wrong?
Ok. I just don’t think I have four lids that are exactly the same size.
Paper or plastic cups won’t really be strong enough. The caps from gallons of milk work well. You could also try caps from teas or soda bottles.
I don’t have the wheels. Can I substitute small paper\plastic cups and punch a hole in the bottom?
My 6YO son decided he didn’t want to keep bending down to get the propeller car on and off so he hooked the index card switch to it!! Thank you soo much for these great things that really work and giving them the tools and understanding to make their own modifications!! This is so fun!!
When I was making the fan propelled car project, it was so cool, I decided to make a boat! And it really worked! I’ve attached a picture of it so you can see what it looks like. It worked well, was very fun!
Your student, Rylan