Flying Machine Book: Build and Launch 35 Rockets, Gliders, Helicopters, Boomerangs, and More
Acknowledgments Thanks to all the people who helped turn an idea for free flying machines into this book Kathy Green for helping this book find a home Jerome Pohlen and the creative people at Chicago Review Press for making it look great Robert Frost and Greg Robin son for lending me their real flying experience But most of all thanks to my wonderful family Michele you are amazing and understanding when I don’t put the scissors back Nicole for helping me build many of the flyers in this book Jordan thanks for making everyone in the house smile A special thanks to Molly Belle and Sally our three lovingly psycho cats for chasing flyers all around the house and the great outdoors vii
Introduction A bird in flight is an inspiring beauty to behold Making and flying things with your own hands is just pure fun We have all enjoyed the feeling of watching our creations take off Seeing paper airplanes being tossed about is a joy Water balloons arcing gracefully toward an intended target make us smile should to be able to find a favorite Each fun flyer project is designed to let you experi ment with tweak and explore the wonderful world of flight The materials required for these flyers are everyday items found in most homes and classrooms so there is no expen sive stuff to buy Just go have fun The flying projects in this book range from very easy to difficult and everybody ix
1 Flight School The ability to fly has amazed people since time began The earliest humans watched birds soaring in the sky and dreamed of joining them Kites were probably humankind’s first attempt to reach the skies The Chinese first started flying kites around 400 BC for ceremonies and just for fun Leonardo da Vinci was the first person known to seriously study flight His drawings described his theories on bird flight Da Vinci even drew pictures of imaginary flyers that would allow a person to fly under his or her own power Although none were built for over 400 years his designs inspired the invention of the helicopter In the late 1700s hot air gave human-powered flight a lift People discovered that hot air rises so a bag filled with hot air will float This led to the invention of the hot air bal loon Hot air balloons soared over Europe in the 1780s giving people the opportunity to realize their dreams of flying through the air Around 1800 Englishman George Cayley took flying in a new direction when he discovered the modern airfoil Cayley often called the Father of Aviation because of his studies is acknowledged as the first person to realize that the battling forces governing flight were lift thrust drag and weight He also built the first glider capable of holding a person and that first flyer was a 10-year-old boy Cayley also experimented with rudders and flaps just like you will on the flyers in this book 1
