Foam Plate Glider

I like to make things and make things for others. I like to show kids how to make things for themselves or others. I like planes. I saw some of these type of gliders and thought "why not!"

Foam plates

Straws

Screws

Hot glue gun

Cut out the wings, tail, and stabilizer. Cut the straws to length.

The wings are 160 mm x 55 mm. I made them slightly trapezoidal but rectangles work fine. Be creative!

The rear stabilizer is 112 mm x 36mm. Again be creative. Square, round, whatever.

The rudder is 60 mm x 35 mm. You know what to do! Whatever shape you fancy.

I cut the straws to 140 mm and 70 mm. Trim off the floppy/bending part.

Take the two straw pieces and insert the shorter piece into the longer. Pinch one end for about 10 mm and insert it into the longer piece. I ended up with a total length of 200 mm. Once it looks like if fits well, pull out the inside piece and put on a touch of Hot Glue. Careful here, the glue is HOT. Push them back together and let cool.

Hot glue the rudder onto the center of the rear stabilizer. Make sure its square.

Next hot glue the rear assembly onto the rear of the longer end of the straw. Again make it as square as you can.

Next I just spot glue the two wing halves together. Then you place a bead of hot glue along the center joint on the bottom of the wing. Place the wing on the fuselage. I positioned it 40 mm from the front. I also placed some spacers under the rear stabilizer to keep everything square. I placed spacers approx. 25 mm high under the outer ends of the wings and weighed down the center until the hot glue sets.

The wings now have dihedral, which gives the plane some stability. This is simply a very slight "V" in the wing which lowers the weight of the plane below the wing lift. So the lower center of gravity helps keep the plane stable. This is a VERY simple explanation! Let's just say that it helps.

Next, I placed a screw into the front of the straw. If the straw is loose, put a spacer in with the screw to keep it in place. You will probably need to experiment here.

Find an area where you can't break anything and give it a toss. If it goes up and down, you should add more weight or make the front longer. If it dives, you need to remove some weight or shorten the nose some.

Here you just have to fly it until you get results you like. You can always move the wings back a bit also.

I then took the plane outside and tossed it.

36 feet. Not too bad!

Once I liked the balance I Hot Glued the screw in permanently and put a bead on the screw to protect things it may hit.

The sky's the limit. Design it like you want. Color it. Use other materials.

You'll have fun and learn a thing or two. Make a squadron of different types and have contests. Longest time or distance. Or try to land closest to a target. Anything. Have fun!