Session 2: Lift of the airfoil of the airplane

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Objective 1: To build a small facility to test an airfoil

Objective 2: To link the lift on an airfoil to the experiments performed in session 1.

 Explanation

The explanation of acceleration of the air on the wing is very difficult to demonstrate with simple experiments, and we would like to avoid “to tell” a story to the students.  This is why by comparison with the previous experiments we would like that the students understand that lift is generated because the air is accelerated on the upper part of the wing and this acceleration is due to the shape of the wing.

Material

• Small realistic model(s) of airplane where it is obvious that the wings have a higher curvature on the upper part
• Shoe box
• Straws
• Fine strong string
• Paper
• Hairdryer

Maximum duration

45 minutes

Main question to be asked

Do you know the function of the wings on a plane ?

Introduction/Starters

Give the children a model of a plane and ask them to look, touch, observe carefully the wing and ask them what they observe.

You can also propose to the children to observe the image of this wing which corresponds to the root of the wing where it is attached to the plane and observe that the lower part is flatter than the upper one.

Main activities

A. Lift your wing

1. Prepare the wing

• Take a piece of paper and turn it.
• Then make a fold so the lower part is flatter.
• Reinforce your wing structure by gluing 2 straws, that will help to guide it

2. Prepare the structure to maintain the wing

• Take a shoe box and tender  to strings.
• Past your wing within the strings, check the stability.

3. Lift your wing

• Blow on your wing with a hair dryer

B. Comparison with experiments of session 1

This step can drawn on the result of a discussion.

According to the previous experiments, if the wing is lifted it is because the air is pushing ……  ( more on the lower part) which means that the velocity on this part is …… (slower)

And thus on the upper part ……. (air is faster and pressure lower)

This can be explained by the shape of the wings that forces the air to go faster on the upper part.

Conclusion/Plenary

The plane lift force is due mainly to a force directed opposite to gravity, occuring when the air is flowing around the wing, and is decelerated on the lower part of the wing and accelerated on its upper part.

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