1. Gliders and Flight
David Wagner

2. Part I: Wing Design

3. Basic Aircraft Geometry
Wing Reference Area
Chord (c)
Wingspan (b)
Aspect Ratio

4. The 4 Forces of Flight
Lift
Drag
Thrust
Weight

5. The Glider Technique: Gravity as Thrust
Velocity Vector
(Where the Plane is going)

6. Optimizing Glider Flight
&
So,

7. Optimizing Glider Flight (cont’d)
"Type equation here."
Thus,

8. Optimizing the Aspect Ratio

9. Influence of Wingspan on Aspect Ratio
Wing Reference Area: 0.5m 2

10. Effects of Wingspan and Aspect Ratio on Wing Design
Ideal Conditions:
- Small Chord
- Large Wingspan

11. Part II: Stability and Egg Placement

12. Stability and Control ALL motion of an airplane can be described as
is the symbol for the centre of gravity of a body
ALL motion of an airplane
can be described as
combinations of yaw, pitch and roll about the CG,

13. Moments: The Seesaw Problem
Student 2
Weight:
300N 6m
Student 1
Weight: 600N 6m
Without putting Student 1 on a crash diet, how would
we balance the seesaw?

14. Moments: The Seesaw Problem (cont’d)
Student 1
Weight: 600N
Student 2
Weight:
300N 3m 6m
A “moment” is the tendency of a force to twist or rotate a body.

15. Applying Moments to Glider Stability and Egg Placement
Pos’n aft of CG
Pos’n on CG
Pos’n forward of CG

16. Optimizing the Position of the Egg for Stability
Close to the CG to minimize impact
Extreme Cases:
Aft: Nose pitches up, aircraft stalls
Forward: Nose pitches down, aircraft nose dives

17. Thank you, and good luck!