THE FOUR FORCES

OF FLIGHT–THRUST

An aircraft in straight and level flight

is acted upon by four forces:
lift, gravity, thrust, and drag.
The opposing forces balance each
other; lift equals gravity and thrust
equals drag. LIFT
Any inequality between thrust and
drag, while maintaining straight and
level flight, will result in acceleration
and deceleration until the two forces
become balanced. THRUST

DRAG
Drag: The air resistance that tends
to slow the forward movement of
an airplane.

Gravity: The force that pulls all

objects towards the earth.

Lift: The upward force that is cre-

ated by the movement of air above
and below a wing. Air flows faster
above the wing and slower below
the wing, creating a difference in
G R AV I T Y pressure that tends to keep an air-
plane flying.

Thrust: The force that moves

a plane forward through the air.
Thrust is created by a propeller
or a jet engine.
THRUST

Foamie Flyer
OBJECTIVE:
Investigating the principle of thrust.

PROBLEM:
Does the amount of thrust affect the Foamie Flyer’s flight?

M AT E R I A L S :
Foam paper plates (full size), scissors, masking tape, large paper clips, rubber bands,
non-bendable straws, rulers and copies of Blackline 1 for each student.

BACKGROUND:
Thrust is the force that moves a plane through the air. Because airplanes fly in a three-dimensional
environment, the following terms refer to the various directions an airplane can move:
Pitch—to move the nose of the airplane up or down
Roll—to tilt one wing up and the other wing down
Yaw—to point the nose of the airplane left or right while remaining level with the ground
Bank—to tilt the airplane inward while making a turn

Airplanes, including even the Foamie Flyer, use a variety of “control surfaces”
to change the speed and direction in which they fly.
These control surfaces include:
Ailerons—movable sections, hinged on the rear edge of the wing
near the wingtip, that cause the airplane to roll
Flaps—movable sections, hinged on the rear of the wing,
that can be lowered to increase lift and drag during takeoff or landing
Stabilizer—the vertical stabilizer is the upright portion of the airplane tail,
while the horizontal stabilizer is the small wing usually located on the back of the airplane.

MANAGEMENT:
1. 45-60 minutes
2. Students will build their own flyer.
3. W
hen launching the flyers, form groups of 3 or 4 so that all students
are not launching at the same time.
4. This is an outdoor activity.
5. Foamie Flyers must be launched away from other children.
6. Save the unused parts of the plate for the extension activities

WORD BANK:
thrust, lift, gravity, drag, wings, nose, fuselage, ailerons, flaps, pitch, roll, yaw, bank

THRUST (1)
THRUST

Foamie Flyer
PROCEDURE:
1. Give each child the materials.
2. Instruct students to fold back the top three centimeters of the straw and
insert the rubber band into the fold.
3. F old the straw over the rubber band and secure the end with masking tape.
This creates the launcher for the flyer.
4. Instruct students to cut a triangle out of the foam plate from the flat inverted side of the plate.
A good size to start with is 13 cm x 13 cm x 13 cm (equilateral triangle).
5. T ape the paper clip to the top of the foam wings. Then, tape the wings to the top of the launcher
so that it extends slightly over the lip.

6. Hook the rubber band around the

tip of your thumb and pull back on the
opposite end of the flyer. Release the
straw and the flyer will fly forward.

7. There should be a designated launch starting line. Call groups forward, one at a time, to launch their
flyers. Each child should launch the flyer using two different amounts of thrust. They should first pull
the nose of the flyer halfway to their elbow and let it fly. Next, they should pull the nose of the flyer
all the way to their elbow and let it fly. The group should observe the changes in the flyer’s flight and
distance. These observations can be recorded on the Student Data Sheet, Blackline 1.

THRUST (2)
THRUST

Foamie Flyer
DISCUSSION:
1. Does the amount of thrust affect the Foamie Flyer’s flight?

2. What other factors affect how your flyer flew?

3. Why was your flyer successful or unsuccessful?

4. How does the thrust of the Foamie Flyer compare to the thrust of a real airplane?

EXTENSIONS:
1. Students can cut the wings flaps and ailerons into the back of the foam wings and can ob-
serve the changes in flight.

2. Students can alter the weight of the flyer and to observe the changes in flight by adding
weight behind the wings with tape or paper clips.

3. Students can use the leftover foam plate parts to add stabilizers and rudders to their flyers
and observe changes in flight.

4. Try different size foam wings to observe changes in flight.

THRUST (3)
THRUST

Foamie Flyer
S T U D E N T D ATA S H E E T

Foamie Flyer Captain: __________________________________________________________________________

1. Did the amount of thrust affect the Foamie Flyer’s flight?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What did you observe when using different amounts of thrust to launch your Foamie Flyer?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. How differently did the Foamie Flyer fly after modifications were made to the
ailerons, flaps, stabilizers or rudder?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Draw and label a diagram showing how thrust affected the flight of your flyer.

THRUST (4)
THRUST

Jammin’ Jets
OBJECTIVE:
To use thrust as the main force while manipulating the design of an aircraft to increase the distance.

PROBLEM:
When using thrust to fly a Jammin’ Jet, how do changes to the design affect the distance it can travel?

M AT E R I A L S :
2 straws with different diameters, masking tape, scissors, index cards, rulers, tape measures, and a
copy of Blackline 1 for each student.

B A C KG R O U N D I N F O R M AT I O N :
Airplane designers try to increase airplane thrust by making more powerful jet engines and propellers.

MANAGEMENT:
1. 45-60 minutes
2. Construct the Jammin’ Jets individually, then work in groups of four to complete the activity.
3. A large open space is required for this activity.
4. S
tudents should be instructed to blow only into their own straw
and to launch the jets away from each other.
5. Set up a runway using tape measures for the students to launch their jets.

WORD BANK:
thrust, fuselage, wings, nose, stabilize

THRUST (5)
THRUST

Jammin’ Jets
PROCEDURE:
1. Hand out materials to each student.

2. Wrap a piece of tape around the front end of the straw

with the larger diameter so that the opening is taped shut.

TAPE

3. Allow the children to experiment by placing wings on different parts of the straw.

4. Insert the smaller straw into the larger straw, leaving an inch at the end of the smaller straw.

5. Demonstrate thrust by blowing into the smaller straw. This projects the jet forward.

6. If the front of the jet rises, wrap some tape near the front of it until it flies level.
If the front of the jet falls, wrap some tape around the straw just behind the wings.

7. Students can practice flying the different jets within their group.

8. Choose the best jet and fly three trails recording the distance on the Student Data Sheet.

THRUST (6)
THRUST

Jammin’ Jets
DISCUSSION:
1. What force was used to propel your Jammin’ Jet?

2. Did your jet fly in a straight line?

3. What changes did you make to help your jet fly straighter?

4. What design feature increased the distance?

EXTENSIONS:
1. S
tudents use their best design in a Jammin’ Jets rally.
The jets can compete against each other to see which one will fly the longest distance.

2. Different levels of thrust can be applied to see how this affects the stability of the plane.

C U L M I N AT I N G A C T I V I T Y:
Set up a target (hula-hoop with paper plate inside) and see which jet
can land closest to the center of the target by adjusting the amount of applied thrust.
Award five points for jets that land in the hula-hoop and
ten points for landing on the paper plate.

THRUST (7)
THRUST

Jammin’ Jets
S T U D E N T D ATA S H E E T

Jammin’ Jets Captain: __________________________________________________________________________

D I S TA N C E T R AV E L E D
TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3 AV E R A G E

Diagram and label your best design.

What changes to the jet’s design were not successful?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why do you think these changes were successful?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

THRUST (8)
THRUST

Balloon Jet
OBJECTIVE:
Investigate the principle of thrust.

PROBLEM:
What force causes the Balloon Jet to move forward?

M AT E R I A L S :
balloon (sausage-shaped works best), straws, spool of fishing line, scotch tape,
a copy of Blackline 1 for each group, a copy of Blackline 1 for each student

B A C KG R O U N D I N F O R M AT I O N :
Thrust is the force created by a power source that moves the plane forward – either from a propeller
or a jet engine. When the thrust is greater than the drag, a plane moves forward. This activity demon-
strates Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Back-
ward thrust of the air from the balloon produces the forward motion of the balloon.

MANAGEMENT:
1. 45-60 minutes
2. This activity works best with small cooperative groups of 3-4 students.
3. Pieces of fishing line should be cut to the length of the room available.
4. Create one Balloon Jet per group.
5. The class graph can be used for the main activity as well as the extensions.
6. Each group should always have a designated “balloon blower”
so that the same student always inflates the balloon.

WORD BANK:
thrust, average (mean), launch

THRUST (9)
THRUST

Balloon Jet
PROCEDURE:
1. Thread the fishing line through a straw and attach the ends of the fishing line securely to a wall or
other object. The line should be taut.

2. Instruct the students to blow up their balloons to the desired size, measure its length and record it
on the Group Data Sheet. Pinch off the end of the balloon so that no air is released.

3. Tape the balloon end to the straw.

4. The students will release the balloon from the designated starting point.

5. O
bserve and measure the distance the balloon travels and record it on the
Group Data Sheet, Blackline 1.

6. Repeat the procedure two more times with balloons that are inflated to the same size.
(Balloons may be a different size for each group.)

7. After the groups have completed the activity and data sheet, compare the results.

8. Each student will then complete his or her own Class Graph, Blackline 2.

T H R U ST ( 10 )
THRUST

Balloon Jet
DISCUSSION:
1. What makes the balloon jet travel forward?

2. Does the length of the Balloon Jet make a difference as to how far it travels? Why?

3. What else could affect the distance a Balloon Jet will travel?

EXTENSIONS:
1. Students could repeat the activity using different size or shape balloons.

2. The tautness of the line can be altered.

3. The angle of the line can be changed to show the effect of forward thrust.

4. T
he students can insert different size straws into the opening of the balloon
to observe and measure changes in the distance the Balloon Jet travels.

5. S
tudents can find the speed of their Balloon Jet
by dividing the distance traveled by the time it took.

C U L M I N AT I N G A C T I V I T Y:
Using variables from the main activity and the extensions,
students can work to design a Balloon Jet that will travel the longest distance.

T H R U ST ( 11 )
THRUST

Balloon Jet
G R O U P D ATA S H E E T

Pilots: ___________________________________________________________________________________________

Prediction: We think our balloon jet will travel _______ cm.

The name of our balloon jet is ___________________________________________________________________________.

Diagram and label your balloon jet.

D I S TA N C E T R AV E L E D

BALLOON TRIAL 1 TRIAL 2 TRIAL 3 AV E R A G E

LENGTH D I S TA N C E

Conclusion: What forces caused the balloon to move forward on the line?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
T H R U ST ( 12 )
THRUST

Balloon Jet
CLASS GRAPH
Pilot:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Title:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
D I S TA N C E

GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP GROUP

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______
T H R U ST ( 13 )