Rubberband Balsa Airplane

This instructable will show you how to make a rubberband airplane with balsa wood and styrofoam.

The goal of this airplane is to fly as far as possible.

1. a styrofoam plate

2. balsa wood

a. 2 bars of 5mm x 5mm x 1000mm

b. 1 bar of 8mm x 5mm x 1000mm

c. 1 bar of 15mm x 5mm x 1000mm

d. a few plates of 1 mm x 100mm x 1000mm

e. a plate of 3 mm x 100 mm x 1000mm

3. glue for wood

4. hot glue

5. an 8x5 propeller

6. beads

7. some paperclips

8. rubberbands

Start by sawing your styrofoam plate in a shape your wing and tail will look like.

If you 've done that, make the shape of your wing and tail as you want it with sandpaper.

This will go very easy.

In my model I have chosen to make a tail which consists of 4 parts (top, left, right and bottem).

If the wingshape is ready glue the thinnest Blasa plate on the top of the wing.

Draw the shape of your body on a piece of paper.

Make sure that you there is enough room in the middle for your rubberbands, also for your balsa bars at the edge of your design: at the bottem and top the bars of 15 mm x 5 mm x 420 mm (the length of your plane)

horizontal place for the bars of 8 mm x 5 mm x 420 mm and between those two some place for the bars of 5 mm x 5 mm x 480 mm.

Cut this shape out.

Draw this piece 5 times om your balsa plate of 3 mm x 100 mm x 1000 mm.

Cut these all out.

Cut 2 identical bars of balsa 15 mm x 5 mm x 420 mm.

Put with a pencil 5 marks on the wood where you will place those pieces (in the begin, at 1/4, half, 3/4 and the end of the bar)

Glue the 5 pieces on the bottem balsa bar.

Glue them on the top bar.

Glue the horizontal bars (8 mm x 5 mm x 420 mm) on the body.

Glue the diagonal bars ( 5 mm x 5 mm x 480 mm) on the body.

Now glue the balsa plate (1 mm x 100 mm x 1000 mm) on the diagonal bars of the body. But first cut it at the right width.

And push them together with clothespins until its dry.

First you cut 2 cirkels of balsa plate with a diameter bigger then the body.

Lets start with the end of the propeller.

Cut a paperclip and bend it in a right shape to keep the rubberbands together.

Push it through the balsa cirkel and glue it on the wood.

Take the propeller and some beads.

1 adhesive bead STRAIGHT into the propeller. Then adhesive an other bead straight to the circular piece of balsa wood behind the center.

Then cut another piece of a paper clip and distort it to a straight bar.

Insert the bar through the bead of the propeller and add a bead, followed by the second piece of balsa wood.

Bend the end of the bar in a hook.

First glue the back part of the propeller on the body of the plane, and pull all the rubberband through the body.

Connect the hook of the propeller at the rubberbands.

The tail: glue the 4 pieces of you tail at the end of your plane, so there is still 50 mm which is not glued on the body.

Search the right spot for your wing and connect him to your body with a rubberband.

For the final step you have to put a little bit of weight in front of your plane.

Wind it up and you are ready to fly!