How can you improve the stability of your ray-shaped BLIMP?
Learning Objectives
After completing this lesson, the student will be able to leverage their knowledge of structures and hydrodynamics to design a wing to meet a performance objective.
Standards
- NGSS HS-ETS1-3
- CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1
- CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2
- CCSS.Math.Practice.MP4
Supplies
- Ray BLIMP hull
- Balsa wood components
- Pins
- Tape
- Helium
Building Blocks
If you skipped over the lessons on form and function and balance, this is a great time to go back to them, specifically:
Design for Performance
In this lesson, you’re going to put to the test what you’ve learned about form and function, balance, as well as movement. Using your BLIMP structural kit components and your flying wing BLIMP hull, devise a way to turn your flying wing into a dihedral wing. Hint: using a gusset plate will let you provide support structures at multiple angles, and the tape will help secure the structure to the BLIMP hull. Be careful not to use pins anywhere near your inflatable hull. Experiment with how dihedral will cause the wing to self-correct if it starts to roll while moving forward. Alternatively, you can angle the wings downward, anhedral, to make the wing less stable but more maneuverable!
Next Steps
Continue down this path of synthesizing knowledge of form, function, balance, and movement with lessons for the literate engineer.
Last updated: November 23, 2022.
BLIMP 