13 thoughts on “PAPER AIRPLANE talk

  1. What is up Justin Q, this presentation was amazing. I always thought I knew a lot about paper airplanes, but this is way more in-depth than my knowledge. One aspect I enjoyed in your presentation is how you were able to balance information with examples that applied the information to real-life examples where I can relate to. This allowed understanding from connections to preexisting knowledge. Another aspect of your presentation that I enjoyed is how you were able to wisely use your time to describe each part with great detail without being repetitive, allowing me to understand the vocabulary and the relations between the ideas very easily. One thing I would push you on is to distribute your speaking speed more evenly, sometimes it sounds like you’re trying to rap. For my one question, I was wondering how the flat nose contributes to a more effective paper airplane. Overall, it was a masterpiece, it has enchanted my knowledge of paper airplanes from 3rd grade to engineer.

    Have a good day

  2. Hey Justin! Great presentation! I loved learning about airplanes and aeronautics, mixed with the idea of a fun childhood toy that everyone can learn to make. I thought you talked at a good rate for my own preference, which really helped me to understand the presentation better. Just one question: Is there a specific reason why the “classic” paper airplane flies so well? Does it have to do with the 4 forces? This is the type of paper airplane I’m talking about:

    https://paperplanemafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/how-to-make-a-paper-airplane-150×150.jpg

    Thank you for the learning experience,

    Kavyan

    1. I like that you enjoyed my presentation Kavyan and I’m thrilled that you learned your fair share throughout the Paper Airplane Talk. Sadly, the link in your question doesn’t work for whatever reason. But I’m assuming you’re talking about the classic dart. This plane doesn’t fly too well compared to the best paper airplanes, but I do agree it flies pretty well compared to how simple it is to make. The paper plane is made similar to a throwing dart, it slices through the air pretty well to reduce drag (even though the plane body is super big which creates more drag so probably not), and it heavily relies on thrust (how far your throwing hand can chuck it). It creates little lift however and gravity eventually catches up fairly quickly. Its design is far from the best with its small wings and its mediocre drag resistance. Hope this clears things up.

  3. It seemed like you learned a lot about aerodynamics during this ted talk. your transitions were thematic and your slides were consistent. It was really interesting how you applied the principles of aerodynamics to paper planes at the end.here is my question; is paper the best material to make homemade airplanes out of, and what should be considered when picking a material for small model planes?

    1. I’m glad that you enjoyed the transitions and slides throughout my presentation, and I’m glad that you liked my conclusion.
      To answer your question, the best material to build a “paper airplane” would have a mix of being easily foldable, not-flimsy as to break shape, lightweight, and to have little to no skin drag. Paper is a good choice for building an origami airplane, since it does meet the criteria and it is very easy to come by. However specialized origami paper could be even better. This criteria also fits when picking materials for any model plane. Hope this answers your questions Draedon.

  4. Hi Justin,

    I like how you used diagrams to support and help explain the concepts. Many other people had a slide show of images that were relevant to the topic but didn’t help explain the ideas that they were talking about. I find that using a slide show in this way is not a good use of the slide show. When you were talking about dihedral angle, you mentioned angle of attack, which I don’t think you explained about earlier in the presentation. This may have confused some people.
    A question I have is: Does higher dihedral angle (more inward angle) increase the angle of attack for one wing or both wings? Does it only do this when the plane rolls?

    Colin

    1. Thanks for watching the Talk Colin! I love that you enjoyed the Powerpoint presentation and that you thought it was a good visual representation. Though it was in hindsight probably not a good idea to put that many images, and it was a bit messy, but i’m glad that you found it nice.
      It was a bit hard to fit everything into an 8 minute presentation so some stuff was missing. So sorry to anyone who got confused by the dihedral angle.
      To answer your question, the dihedral angle applies to both wings as to keep it balanced and symmetrical in general. It is built into the plane so that when it does start to roll, it can fly on a higher angle of attack, it doesn’t magically give itself a dihedral angle when it rolls. Hope this cleared up any confusion,

  5. Justin,
    I liked how you used the airplane transition for the slides. I’ve never really been interested in paper planes, but you made it seem very interesting. One note I have is, your description made it seem like you don’t care about your presentation so I would probably change that. Your voice was very loud and clear, so it was easy to understand. I also thought that you explained everything well. I learned a lot and next time I make a paper airplane, I’ll be sure to keep what affects the airplane in mind.

    You mentioned for a plane to go far, the 4 forces needs to be balanced. So, does the effectiveness or balance of the 4 forces of flight get affected by environmental conditions? Is there a better combination of the forces if there is strong, light, or an average amount of wind?

    1. Thanks for stopping by Sinu, I liked that you enjoyed the airplane transitions, bless Powerpoint for having that in the built in animations.
      I took your thoughts into consideration and changed the description to the video to a more welcoming and enthusiastic tone.
      Thanks for enjoying the presentation overall, and also you don’t always have to think about how airplanes work, probably pretty distracting.
      The 4 forces are definitely affected by the environment, wind is definitely a big factor is flight distance, this is why you see paper airplanes fly best indoors, and why all world record attempts and such are done indoors. A good combination of forces requires little drag, since that is what makes the plane fly the best. Since wind is just stronger parasitic drag to the airplane. So a light amount of wind in this scenario would be the best option.

  6. Hey Justin Q, cool TALONS Talk! I found this to be very interesting, as I never knew there was this much science behind paper airplanes before! I always thought there was just 1 type of drag, but after watching your TALONS Talk, I now know otherwise! I would suggest maybe adding some more enthusiasm into your voice, cus it sounds very monotone right now, but it’s still really good!

    My question for you is: are there any professional airplane competitions? If so, what are they competing for, and how do you compete?

    1. I’m glad you took time to watch my Talk Dylan. I’m also glad that you took something out of my presentation.
      I’ll remember next time to always put a bit more enthusiasm into my voice, even if it takes 10000 takes to get a piece of recording right.
      There are a bunch of world record attempts being attempted to either throw the paper airplane the farthest or keep it in the air the longest, both fairly fascinating. However I haven’t seen any formal professional competitions other then a 2015 RedBull Competition (link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUyqakRMrxo). Applying is just either submitting a world record or doing it live in front of a supervisor, or meeting regulations and signing up for one, I wouldn’t imagine the requirements for a paper airplane competition would be too tight.
      Anyways, thank you.

  7. I enjoyed the mix between paper, and real airplanes, and the simplicity of just focusing on the four forces of flight. I would have preferred if you put it in video format, so I wouldn’t have to flip slides myself, and could just paused it when I missed something you said. I’m also wondering why some airplanes and paper airplanes have fins sticking out the top

    1. I am greatly honored that you enjoyed the Talk! Thanks for stopping by.
      anyway sincerely a thanks for the feedback Ben! Really appreciate it. I took some of your critique into consideration and I turned the Powerpoint into a Youtube video! I agree now that it’s much easier to watch and listen to in a video format so a huge thank you.
      To answer your question, most paper airplanes don’t manually turn or yaw on their X axis so they don’t usually require a vertical stabilizer (or fin) to fly a decent distance. The ones you’ve seen are probably purely cosmetic. Conventional airplanes have one to stop the plane from yawing and keeping the nose of the plane you know, stabilized (hence the name “vertical stabilizer”.)
      Thanks for stopping by!

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